POE-try Contest
Bring out your inner Edgar Allen Poe with the Bettendorf Library’s POE-try contest! Select a word from our Poe-inspired word bank and write your own poem for submission. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of each category: Adult, Teen, and Youth. Submissions are due October 31.
About the Poetry Contest
Though perhaps best remembered for his Gothic short stories, Edgar Allan's Poe true love was poetry. He wrote poetry as an adolescent, and he published his first book of poems at age 18 while enlisted in the army. Though he achieved only moderate success in his lifetime, today his name is known across the world. To celebrate Poe's literary legacy, we are challenging you to create an original poem using Poe's writings as your inspiration.
The contest will be open from September 1 through October 31, and there are three categories: adult (18+), teen (13-18), and youth (12 and under). Submissions will be judged blind. Winners of each category will be announced on January 16 at the poetry celebration in honor of Poe's 218th birthday. Participants can read their submitted work aloud at the poetry celebration, and they may also elect to have their work included in a published book of poems.
Contest Rules
- One entry per person or group (no limit on the number of people per group).
- The submitted poem must include at least one of the Poe-inspired words found in the Poe Word Bank below.
- Limit of 500 words per poem.
- Poems must be typed.
- No use of AI is permitted.
- Poems must be the entrant's original work.
- If submitting your poem in person or through email, you must include the provided cover sheet (coming soon). Only the poem title should appear on the page(s) with your poem; no personally identifying information should be included to allow for blind judging. No cover sheet is required if using the online submission form.
- Submissions are due October 31.
Poe Word Bank
Choose at least one of the following words to incorporate into your poem:
Hath Heaven Human Plague Laurels Hope Romance Alchemy Dearest
Muses Sages Tottering Hyacinth Love Sleeps Dirge Harmony Specter Cask
Acrid Aghast Behemoth Beguiling Heart Raven Masque Nevermore Purloined
Worm Haunted Valentine Oblong Maelstrom Pendulum Silence Spectacles
Burial Revelation Imp Hoax Belfry Tell-tale Sea Mystification Cellar Friend
Macabre Tomb Revelers Mystery
Poem Submission
Beginning September 1, there are three ways to submit your poem:
- Fill out the online submission form below.
- Email your poem, along with the provided cover sheet (coming soon), to info@bettendorflibrary.com with POE-try in the subject line.
- Drop off a copy of your poem, along with the provided cover sheet, at the Information Desk. The library has public computers available if you need to type out or print your poem. Copies of the cover sheet will be available at the library to fill out if needed.