With some increases in cash prizes offered in the School Division, the Iowa Poetry Association will award nearly $500.00 in its 54th annual contest. Anyone with an Iowa address may submit entries to the adult, college or school division before the February 15th postmark deadline.

Entries must be original, unpublished, and, with the exception of students’ work, must be submitted by the author. Each poet may send up to five poems, not to exceed 20 lines each, and adult entrants may include several humorous verses of not more than eight lines each. Each poem should be on a separate sheet of paper, typed, with name and address in upper left-hand corner. A self-addressed, stamped envelope should be included for the return of unused poems and copy of the winners list. Besides the general category in which poems may be of any style and content, special categories include national/world events, poems for children, and sonnet and haiku forms.

Adult division entries should be sent to Lucille Morgan Wilson, 2325 61st Street, Des Moines, IA 50322; college division entries go to Mildred Bensmiller, Iowa Wesleyan College, Mt. Pleasant, IA 52641, with entrant’s name and both college and home addresses.

Students or their teachers may enter poems in the school division, giving name and mailing address of school, student’s grade, name and address, and teacher’s name on each entry. High School (grades 9-12) poems are to be mailed to Joy Lyle, 17844 330th Street, Keota, IA 52248. Grade school entries are sent to Eileen Coursey, 2222 Central Ave., Dubuque 52001. Kindergarten through 4th grade and grades 5-8 are judged separately. Selected school poems are also eligible for the national Manningham competition.

Editor-in-chief Lucille Morgan Wilson emphasized that there is no entry fee for the Iowa Poetry Association contest and, while an anthology of winning and high-ranking poems is published in August, there is no requirement for book purchase or membership in the Association. Prize winners and others to be included in Lyrical Iowa, as determined by a panel of judges, will be notified in June. The 160-page book will be available at a pre-publication price of $8.00, postpaid.

The Iowa Poetry Association is a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to promote interest in and appreciation for better poetry by Iowans. Membership is open to any individual or writing group within the state. Inquiries may be directed to Editor Wilson, address above. The Association, founded in 1945, is affiliated with the Academy of American Poets and the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.