Enter county-wide Every Voice poetry contest

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As October comes to a close, so does the inaugural Every Voice poetry contest – but it’s not too late to enter.

Every Voice is a new initiative launched by the Stratford poet laureate, in partnership with Destination Stratford and the Stratford Public Library. It is an opportunity to have poetic voices from across Perth County be heard and recognized by the public and their peers, with two contest categories for youth (ages eight to 18) and adults (19 or older).

David Stones, the Stratford poet laureate, told the Times that organizers want a “robust” contest.

“It’s called Every Voice for a reason,” Stones said. “We want every voice to be heard and every voice to speak up, especially those marginalized, if you will, the voices that don't often get heard as often as they should. … I can assure you, there are hundreds, if not thousands of closet poets just in this county. You know, poetry can be a very internalized process. Many poets do write about their emotional or physical challenges in a very private way … and this is an opportunity for them to have their voice heard, if they so wish.”

This year’s theme is “Resilience,” which organizers are defining as toughness, the capability to withstand difficulties and grow from them. Stones said that the judging panel, which includes himself, youth poet laureate Quinn Mayer, Heidi Sander and Mark Hertzberger, will be judging submissions based on creativity and uniqueness, as well as the use of poetic conventions like simile and metaphor, surprising words and how open for interpretation it is.

“Irrespective of the quality of art, we're really looking at how the artist, in this case, the poet or storyteller, the writer, has been able to interpret that theme of resilience and how different and how creative and how unique is their art piece,” Stones said.

Honourable mentions will be announced in January, as well as a short list of finalists. The winners will be announced at an awards event in April 2026 to coincide with National Poetry Month. First place will take home $500, second place $250 and third place $100.

The contest has no entry fee. Those interested can submit two poems, each up to two pages long, of any poetic form (though they should be written in Arial or Times New Roman 12 point font).

The contest closes on Oct. 31. For more information, and a link to submit, visit https://splibrary.ca/stratford-poet-laureate.