The Massachusetts Poetry Festival First Poem Contest Mass Poetry

THE MASSACHUSETTS POETRY FESTIVAL FIRST POEM CONTEST

About the Contest:

The 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival returns to downtown, Salem, MA, May 31 and June 1, 2025. The Festival’s opening headline event will start with a reading of a poem by a New England writer. The winners and honorable mentions of the contest will be invited to join us at the Festival and read their poems in person if they are able. Otherwise, another poet will read their poem on their behalf. 1st place also comes with a prize of $250. Two honorary mentions will be awarded $50 each. The names of our winners and the text of the winning poems will be published on the Festival website.

This contest is open to all New England writers or writers who have previously lived in New England. This year’s guest judge is to be announced. Those with a relationship to the guest judge that may represent a conflict of interest such as very close friends or mentees are not eligible for the contest. Please submit 1 original, unpublished poem in .pdf or .docx format. There are no restrictions on length or poetic style. Please do not include your name in the document. A $10 submission fee helps us administer the prize and supports other Festival programming. Please submit only 1 poem per entry. For students and those for whom $10 represents a financial burden, a free submission option is available. Free submission entries are limited to 1 per person. Submissions are open until March 15, 2025. Winners will be notified in mid-April.

Mass Poetry asks for the non-exclusive rights to publish and archive the winning poem, all or in part, on our website, social media, print, or for any marketing purpose. We ask that the poem be unpublished as of the Festival, all other rights remain with the poet. Please send only your own creative work; do not submit another poet's work (unless you are assisting the poet for technical reasons with their full consent) or any work for which you do not hold the copyright.

About the Guest Judge

Coming soon!

In 2023, a winning poem and two honorable mentions were chosen by guest judge Charles Coe

Winner:

• Susan Michele Coronel, "When My Mother’s Hands Were Called"

Honorable mentions:

• Sam Moe, "Back When the Deer Were Horses and the Horses Were Rivers"
• Nnandi Samuel, "A Boneyard of Flesh// Post-War Trauma"

In 2021, three winning poems were chosen by guest judge Dara Barrois/Dixon (former Dara Wier)

• Samn Stockwell of Barre, VT, “The Transmigration of Souls at the Donut Shop”
• Samantha DeFlitch of Portsmouth NH, “I am a Parking Chair”
• Emily Joan Cooper of Peabody, MA “Upon Quitting My Job”