Encourage Your Young Poets!

The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc. Invites YOU to participate in the NGC YOUTH POETRY CONTEST. The 2023-2024 theme is "I Spy with My Little Eye, Something Green Outside - Celebrating Our Green World”

Your youngster doesn't need a green thumb to grow this talent. Excite and encourage our Youth to express and explore their creativity through poetry. NGC's Poetry Contest enables Youth to embrace their talents through the art of writing. Winning entries will be publishes in booklet form. Titles should reflect the theme.

Eligibility

  • Special Education: Kindergarten through 9th Grade
  • English as a second language: Kindergarten through 9th Grade
  • General Education: Kindergarten through 9th Grade.

Dates for Submission

  • Club entries must be sent to YOUR District Poetry Chairman on or before December 1.  See Poetry Flyer for District Chairmen's contact information.
  • District winners will be sent to State Chairman January 10. State Winners must be sent to Regional Chairman by February 1.

Contest Rules

  • All entries must be typed and titled on regular 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
  • The theme should not be used as the title to any poem. When judging, the title is worth 10 points.
  • Include name, address, age, grade, and school of participant on the back of entry.
  • Sponsoring garden club and state garden club must also be identified. Contact person is the mailing address for any winning entries.
  • All entries become the property of NGC and will not be returned. Make your own copies.
  • Poems do not have to rhyme.
  • Poems may be traditional verse, acrostics, blank verse, cinquains, diamond poems, limerick, Haiku, Lune, Tanka, Tongue Twisters, or Jump Rope Rhymes
  • Have one person from the sponsoring club send entries with his or her name, address, email address and telephone number included in the packet of entries.

Print out the Poetry Flyer for distribution to your kids and youth clubs.

A Contest Label should be affixed to the back of each poetry entry. Complete the required information before submitting poems to your District Poetry Chairman.

Scale of Points

  • Title: 10%
  • Content: 40%
  • Creativity: 30%
  • Style: 20%
  • Total: 100%

Note: Only regional winners are considered in the judging for national winners. Contest winners will not be allowed to win two consecutive years. All of the winning entries will be compiled into a booklet, which will be made available to the winners.

Entry Procedures

Submit entries to the District Poetry Contest Chairman by December 1. The District will send the 1st and 2nd Place winning entries to the State Poetry Contest Chairman before January 10. Contact the State Chairman for more information.

State Chairman
Jean O'Shields
400 Valley View Drive
Fort Valley GA 31030
478-397-7660
jeanoshields7@gmail.com