Bucks County residents who write poetry have until Friday, Sept. 25, to submit their work for a chance to become the county's 50th poet laureate, a milestone for Pennsylvania's longest-running program of its kind.
The competition carries a $500 honorarium, a plaque presented by the Bucks County Commissioners and a reading reception in November at Bucks County Community College's Newtown campus. There is no entry fee.
The program, launched in 1977 by the former Bucks County Council on the Arts and now administered by BCCC, is marking a half-century of recognizing local poets. The late Christopher Bursk, a BCCC language and literature professor from Langhorne Manor, won the inaugural title in 1978 with his poem "Choose One or the Other, Says the Light" and went on to co-direct the program until his death in 2021.
Luray Gross, a Doylestown resident and the 2002 laureate, said the program's longevity would have pleased Bursk.
"One of Chris's attributes was that he was tremendously generous and supportive. I think the very fact this program has continued would really gladden his soul. It's been a way to encourage writers; it's been a way to recognize them. The community building would make him very happy as he was so good at that himself," Gross told the Bucks County Beacon in an Aug. 4 article.
Dr. Ethel Rackin, a BCCC professor and current program director who co-directed with Bursk starting in 2019, called him "the program's most beloved and significant advocate."
The current laureate is Madeline Marriott, 23, of Holland in Northampton Township, who was named the 49th laureate in 2025. She is enrolled in a master's program at St. Joseph's University and works part-time at the Newtown Bookshop, according to WHYY.
How to enter
County residents 18 and older who have never held the title may submit 10 original poems online at bucks.edu/poetlaureateentry. Published or unpublished work in any style, length or form is accepted. Past runners-up may reapply.
Preliminary judge Michelle Messina Reale, a poet and Arcadia University professor who is the 2026 Montgomery County Poet Laureate, will select finalists. Final judge Jeanne Marie Beaumont, author of five poetry books including the National Poetry Series winner "Placebo Effects," will name the winner and three runners-up.
The winner will be announced in the fall, with the November reception to include Marriott and the runners-up at BCCC's Newtown campus at 275 Swamp Road in Newtown. For questions, contact Rackin at [email protected].
