Tag: poem contest

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.

ONE WEEK LEFT!!

left

We’re getting down to the wire!  There is one week left to submit your poem about Niagara Falls to the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Contest!!

The judges have sharpened their pencils and are eagerly awaiting reading the submissions!

The curator is feverishly working at getting all of the submission ready for the print anthology of the winners and contestants that will hopefully be available later this year.

All we need is ….. your poem.

Click here to see all of the info you need to submit your poem.

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

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

25th Anniversary Poetry Competition Rules & Submission Guidelines

contest rules

 

Welcome to the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Competition, a juried competition with poems in any form, on the theme of Niagara Falls, (the waterfalls and/or the two cities), with a special award for the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.” Poems will be added to the website, and published in an anthology of Niagara poetry.

There will be a first place prize of $200, a second place prize of $100, and a third place prize of $50. In addition there will be a $200 prize for the the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.”

Niagara Falls Poetry Contest Rules

Theme:

  • Niagara Falls (waterfalls & 2 cities) & Niagara River
    • Poems can be descriptive, philosophical, spiritual, historical, personal, or anything else as long as there is some connection to Niagara Falls, and not just a casual mention (see the NFPP website at https://niagarapoetry.ca to see the range of poetry accepted).
  • There will be a first prize winner of $200, a second prize winner of $100, and a third prize winner of $50
  • In addition, there will be a $200 prize for the poem that best captures the Spirit of Niagara Falls

Format:

  • No AI generated poems
  • Any poetical form accepted
  • Maximum 100 lines
  • English language or translation – judging will be on the English language translation, not the original language
  • May be previously published or already on the NFPP site
  • $5 entry fee, covers a maximum of 3 poems 
  • No gratuitous sex, violence, racism, or hate speech
  • Judges may not submit a poem to the contest, but will get a free entry on the website & in the anthology, and a free copy of the anthology

How to submit:

  • Submit in both a standard editing format and as a .pdf
  • Include a cover page with name, contact information, title, and biography, with an optional head shot (300 dpi minimum)
  • No identifying information on poem page
  • Optional Include an image illustrating the poem (min 300 dpi, 600 preferred, jpg), your copyright, copyright free, or from a place copyright can easily be obtained.
  • Submit to poetrycontest@niagarapoetry.ca
  • Submit payment through etransfer (preferred) or PayPal to poetrycontest@niagarapoetry.ca with message “Contest entry for [Your Name]”
  • Once submitted the poem cannot be changed
  • Contest closes at 11:59 pm August 15, 2026  (Eastern Daylight Time)

By entering the contest you:

  • Agree to have your poem published on the NFPP website & in the 25th anniversary anthology, at the NFPP curator’s discretion (Not all entries will necessarily be published online or in the print anthology)
  • Receive a 15% discount when ordering the print anthology
  • Agree that the judges’ decision is final