Festival Details
43rd Annual Parkmont Poetry Festival
Deadline for Submissions: February 21, 2025
Festival Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025
Festival Time: TBD
Festival Location: TBD
Judges for 2025:
Final Judge
To be announcedPreliminary Judge(s)
To be announced
Rules & Details for Submitting Poems
- The competition is open to any student who attends a school in DC, whether the student resides in DC, Maryland or Virginia. Homeschooled students living in DC are also invited to participate.
- Students may submit previously published poems and poems written a few years ago.
- Students may submit no more than 2 poems.
- Poems must be typed.
- If mailing your submission, be sure to fill out the Poetry Entry Form and include it with your poem(s) so that we have your name, home phone, school, grade, and teacher’s name and contact information. Download the form here.
- Finalists are strongly encouraged to attend the reading ceremony, but they are not required to do so.
- The Poetry Festival Ceremony and Poetry Reading is open to the public.
- If you’d like to purchase extra copies of a Festival booklet, send your request using the “Questions? Contact Us” button below.
Prizes
- $40 Gift Certificate.
- Festival T-shirt.
- Publication in the Parkmont Poetry Festival Winners booklet.
News
The 2023 Parkmont Poetry Festival
Long after the last poem was shared at our 2023 Parkmont Poetry Festival Reading on April 29th, listeners were turning the pages of the winners’ booklet to revisit the words of the 40 winning poets. It was an afternoon full of the dreams, fears, visions, and memories of young writers from all corners of the District. They attend area public, private, and charter schools in grades 6-12, and each of them took to the podium and held the Sanctuary rapt in their unfolding words. The students’ winning poems can be read by selecting their image in our 2023 gallery of winners or by downloading the 2023 booklet here.
In our 38-year history, 2020 marked the first year that we did not assemble in fellowship and solidarity to support our winning poets as they shared their verse at the podium. In lieu of our in-person Festival and Reading, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 2, the 38th annual Parkmont Poetry Festival celebrated our 40 winners by compiling videos of each poet reading their winning verse.
Our 39th annual festival was held on Saturday, May 1 as a Zoom webinar. Please enjoy this recording of the event. These wonderful young poets make the screen feel as intimate as the live room, and their poetry is vibrant and thrilling!
In our 38-year history, 2020 marked the first year that we did not assemble in fellowship and solidarity to support our winning poets as they shared their verse at the podium. In lieu of our in-person Festival and Reading, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 2, the 38th annual Parkmont Poetry Festival celebrated our 40 winners by compiling videos of each poet reading their winning verse.
2018 Finalist Judge Anne Woodworth was unable to attend the Festival, but sent along her gift to the 40 winning poets: a new composite poem created out of excerpts from all of the winning poems; she called it a “convolute.”
The eloquence of young poets from middle and high schools across Washington, D.C., chimed in spring as the Parkmont Poetry Festival marked its 35th year.
Videographer Elizabeth Dausch created a documentary that serves as an introduction to the Parkmont Poetry Festival. View it to learn the origins of our Festival.
One of the winners of our 2014 Festival went on to win the Anacostia Watershed Prize and was featured on TED Talks, where she recited that winning poem.
