September 19, 2024 -Decatur Area Poets is hosting the first, Decatur-wide high school student poetry competition. All Decatur high schools, public and private, are invited to participate. Students have until October 15th to enter.
Poems will be judged by members of the Illinois State Poetry Society. Winners from each school will become finalists and then three top winners will win prizes: $200 for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place.
All finalists will also be published in Decatur Area Poet’s first anthology, Inkwell, which will be released in January of 2025.
There will be a student reading at the Decatur Public Library on Saturday, January 25th in the Madden Auditorium, at 1:00 pm. This will be a free event to the public.
A final reading, featuring the top three poets, will take place at the James Millikin Homestead on Sunday, February 23rd, at 1:00 pm. This event will have a $10 admission fee, to benefit the Homestead, and will also feature artwork from the Barn Colony Artists, and local poet, Anastasia Lindsey.
