2023 Poetry Contest Winners

Grades 3-5

1st Place:
Grayson Kanis

The Tempest's Temper

2nd Place:
Hendrix De Vries

Catching the Wind

3rd Place:
Amelia Beekhuizen

Season Winds

Grades 6-8

1st Place:
Owen Verhoef

I Have No Eyes but See Through..

2nd Place:
Emily Zylstra

My Window

3rd Place:
Claire Hemann

Liberation

Grades 9-12

1st Place:
Alexander Demuth

The Ballad of Little Bird

2nd Place:
Nora Ausman

When

3rd Place:
Naomi Brandt

A Haiku

Adults

1st Place:
Hannah Ridgway

In a Breath

2nd Place:
Jessica Van Der Molen

Long Lost Friend

3rd Place:
Kris Van Gent

Books Hold the Secrets, of Tales Untold

Ready. Set. Write!

The Curiosity Shop is excited to recognize and celebrate our local poets every year!
No matter your experience as a poet, we want to see your submission in our 2023 Poetry Contest!

Details

02/04/23 – 03/04/23

Poems can be submitted any time during the month (only one submission per person).

3rd Grade – Adults

Poems should be written within the themes for the appropriate age range (themes outline below).

Elementary School
(Grades 3-5)

Wind

High School
(Grades 9-12)

Living in a Nest

Middle School
(Grades 6-8)

Window

Adults
(Ages 19+)

Forgetting

Themes

Prizes

Elementary School
(Grades 3-5)

1st Place: $75
2nd Place: $50
3rd Place: $25

High School
(Grades 9-12)

1st Place: $150
2nd Place: $100
3rd Place: $50

Middle School
(Grades 6-8)

1st Place: $100
2nd Place: $75
3rd Place: $50

Adults
(Ages 19+)

1st Place: $200
2nd Place: $125
3rd Place: $75

First place winners in each category will also receive a printed copy of their poem.

Ideally, keep your poem between 3 and 55 lines long
Use standard punctuation
Please submit only one poem per person
You must be an Iowa Resident to enter
Submit by March 4 with your name and phone number to poetrycontest@pellacuriosityshop.com

Contestants who reach the semi-finalist stage of the contest will be given the opportunity to be featured online. By submitting your poem to our contest, you accept that your poem may appear online and in print. We reserve the right to not publish a poem for any reason.

Rules

A Poem for the Poets in Our Poetry Contest

Curiously Written Together

A bookstore is where creativity abounds
Sparked by poets and authors alike
Where many stories and words can be found
Along with the poem you write
Add a theme, words & a few sturdy rules
A contest is blended with fun and reward
Sharing your best ideas, feelings and moods.
No entry will be ignored
Third grade through fifth – your theme is “The Wind”
“A Window” – the theme for 6 to 8 th grade
Highschoolers theme “Living in a Nest” their poem to spin
“Forgetting” the theme for adults their poem to be made
You have until February’s end
Between 3 & 55 lines
We are curious about what you will send
Submit to our email your rhymes.

by Aimee Moore, Tricia Staff, and Olivia Staff
Staff at the Curiosity Shop bookstore

2022 Poetry Contest Winners