Tag: 25th anniversary

The Contest is finished!

finished
The 25th Anniversary Poetry Contest submission period has now finished. Thanks to all of the people who submitted their poems.

Poems came from across North America, with others from the United Kingdom, Sweden, India, Indonesia, and a few that I don’t know where they’re from.

The poems are now going into the judges’ hands for scoring. Once they come back to me I will tally the scores and then be able to announce the winners. The winners’ poems will be added to the website at that point. I don’t envy the judges during the scoring process. There were so many good poems that were entered it will be hard to make a decision.

As the judging is being done I will be selecting and compiling the poems into book format (depending on the size and cost of the book not all entires may necessarily be added to the book). That will be completed after the winners are announced, and the manuscript will be sent to Phylum Press to complete the printing process, with the publication date to be announced later. We will be taking advance orders.

After the book is published the non-winning entries will be added to the website. 

Once again, thanks to all of the poets from around the world who entered the contest.

The Music of Niagara in 1881 as Described by Eugene Thayer in Scribner’s Monthly by Kimiko Hahn

 

Listen to Kimiko Hahn perform  The Music of Niagara in 1881 as Described by Eugene Thayer in Scribner’s Monthly

 

What did I hear? The roar of Niagara Falls?
Niagara Gives a tone and not a roar!
Under the Horseshoe, in its misty halls—
What did I hear? Not the roar of Niagara Falls!
The sound is neither noise nor squall—
one’s organs are an organ; the shower, the chords.
What a choir under Niagara Falls!
Niagara waters sing! Only a beast roars!

Source: Kimiko Hahnthayer

Kimiko Hahn, New York State Poet Laureate, wrote and performed this poem for the Niagara Falls Poetry Project’s 25th Anniversary, where it was featured at the April 9, 2026 event launching the Poetry Contest. Click here for information about the contest and the event.

About Kimiko Hahn

 

Read the article The Music of Niagara by Eugene Thayer on Hathi Trust

 

On Preservation by Kimiko Hahn

Listen to Kimiko Hahn perform On Preservation

 

Four hundred million years ago, a shallow sea
languished across the northern continent
and pressured layers of mud, silt, and marine shells
into varying layers of varying resistance until
the shale entertained a miles-thick ice sheet
that scoured the land into great basins. Meltwater
and glacial debris were ushered over the face.
Undercutting and collapsing yielded the gorge,
the falls, the whirlpools. Then man harnessed the flow,
and the inevitable retreat slowed thus preserving
a home for honeymoon and poetry.
                                                                     Not preserved
is the origin of the name Niagara–possibly adopted
from the Iroquois, Huron or Seneca languages
of which, today, only a few people can still speak.

Source: Kimiko Hahn, 2026kimiko

Kimiko Hahn, New York State Poet Laureate, wrote and performed this poem for the Niagara Falls Poetry Project’s 25th Anniversary, where it was featured at the April 9, 2026 event launching the Poetry Contest. Click here for information about the contest and the event.

About Kimiko Hahn

Democracy: a Poem by Lori Lococo

lococo
Councillor Lori Lococo speaking at the event

What is local democracy?
Is it quiet or is it loud?
Does it only involve a few?
Or does it involve a crowd?
What are the issues that matter?
Infrastructure, programs or taxes?
Can we break through all of the chatter?
Many different perspectives.  Some want and some need.
A lot to consider, yes indeed.
Who will benefit and who will be left behind?
Can democracy be kind?
In order to build, you must take part.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to start.

Source: The author, 2026

Lori Lococo is a long-time Niagara Falls (Ontario) City Councillor, and who works at Consult Niagara, which provides Project Management including Election Campaigns and Office Logistics.

This poem was written an an event held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project‘s website going live.  Lori gave greetings on behalf of the mayor and council, as well as reading this poem at the event. She has been a key player in the arts and culture community in Niagara Falls for many years.

Maud Willard and Her Niagara Falls Stunt, 1901 by Kimiko Hahn

Listen to Kimiko Hahn performing “Maud Willard and Her Niagara Falls Stunt, 1901”

hahn
Maud Willard With Barrel

The barrel with Maud and her dog
shoots into the rapids’ familiar tossing
then to a swirling of strange currents.

Into the whirlpool, they sink from sight,
sucked into its merciless depths.
The barrel with Maud and her dog

then springs from the maelstrom, 
courses far from tourists on shore
in the swirling of strange currents.

Now dark–a search light into the gorge
illuminates the thrashing waves and
the barrel with Maud and her dog.

Five hours–the woman’s been imprisoned
in the rolling, revolving waters
till from that strange swirl of currents

the men catch the cask though only the pet
—nose seen in an air hole—leaps out.
The Tale of Daredevil Maud and Her Dog
is still strangely swirling. And current.


Source: Kimiko Hahn, 2026

Kimiko Hahn, New York State Poet Laureate, wrote and performed this poem for the Niagara Falls Poetry Project’s 25th Anniversary, where it was featured at the April 9, 2026 event launching the Poetry Contest. Click here for information about the contest and the event.

About Kimiko Hahn