How to submit to our 2024 poetry contest

It’s National Poetry Month, and our readers are invited to submit original poems in a special AVLtoday contest.

storytelling event.png

We know there are some wordsmiths out there from our October storytelling event.

Photo by AVLtoday

Calling all readers: In honor of National Poetry Month, we’re bringing back our AVLtoday poetry contest.

This contest is open to all, and the rules couldn’t be more simple: Turn our Wednesday, April 3 newsletter into a poem.

We’ll clarify. Using only the words that appear in this newsletter, craft an original poem of up to 75 words. Unlike an erasure poem, the words do not have to appear in the order they’re found — mix and match how you please. Any English word appearing anywhere in today’s newsletter is fair game, including the ones you’re reading right now (we’ll throw some fun ones at you: Red. Ambivalent. Fungi.). If a word appears once, you can only use it once.

The rules:

  • Submit your poem here by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 14.
  • Include a title + author’s name in your submission. Titles are an exception to the rule, and do not need to pull words from the newsletter.
  • Poems — excluding title and author’s name — must be 75 words or less.

The fun stuff:

  • While we’ve placed a pretty big limitation on your poem’s words, the form + direction is up to you — and we can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
  • The Editorial team behind AVLtoday will narrow submissions down to a group of finalists based on style, originality, artistic quality, and creativity. Finalists will be announced in an upcoming newsletter, and we’ll ask our readers to vote for their favorite poem. We’ll feature the winner’s poem in a newsletter during the last full week of April.
  • Pro tip: To make the process easier on yourself, we recommend printing out today’s issue, highlighting the words you find most interesting, and crossing them out as you include them in your poem.
  • Don’t forget to keep track of your articles (words like “the” or “and”).

Happy writing, Asheville.

More from AVLtoday
More than 1,000 of the unique works of art on the walls of the global steakhouse chain were created by WNC artist and UNC Asheville graduate David Soileau.
Summer may not officially be over yet — but pumpkin spice season is in full swing. Get your fill of the flavor at these Asheville spots.
Check out our guide to the many meaningful murals you can find around our city.
Check out some of the year’s cheapest flights leaving our local airport.
The Asheville chapter of this nonprofit organization introduces local veterans to highly trained canine companions — and they need volunteers to raise the puppies.
Find inspiration, innovation, and collaboration during a week dedicated to building local business.
See what’s in store for the inaugural festival from the literary nonprofit and get acquainted with some of the authors who will share their work.
What you need to know about the unique festival blending history, arts, and culture.
The NC Division of Parks and Recreation acquired 238 acres of high-elevation land as park of the state park’s land protection plan.
Find a local group of fitness friends to keep you motivated, introduce you to new tracks + trails, and make sweat-breaking a social occasion.