Bucks County Community College is searching for the county's 50th poet laureate, and any adult resident with 10 original poems can enter for free.
The college is accepting submissions through Friday, Sept. 25, for the annual competition, which carries a $500 honorarium and a plaque from the Bucks County Commissioners. The winner will be honored at a November reading and reception at the college alongside 2025 Poet Laureate Madeline Marriott and the contest runners-up, New Hope Free Press reported.
The program began in 1977 and is the longest-running poet laureate contest in Pennsylvania, according to the college. The original Bucks County Council on the Arts, now known as BucksArts, was its first sponsor, according to the Bucks County Beacon.
Entrants must be Bucks County residents age 18 or older who have not previously held the title. Submissions require 10 original poems in any style, form or length. Each poem must be typewritten or word-processed, one per page, in black ink. Poems and the entry form go through the college's online portal at bucks.edu/poetlaureateentry.
A preliminary judge will narrow the field before a final judge picks the winner and runners-up.
Michelle Messina Reale, a poet and professor at Arcadia University, will handle the first round. Reale is the 2026 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County and directs Arcadia's low-residency MFA program. She is also the founding editor of OVUNQUE SIAMO: New Italian-American Writing and The Red Fern Review. Her latest poetry collection, "Let It Be Extravagant," was published by Bordighera Press in 2025.
Jeanne Marie Beaumont will make the final selection. Beaumont is the author of five poetry collections, including "Placebo Effects," a National Poetry Series winner, and "Lessons with Scissors." She co-edited "The Poets' Grimm" anthology and wrote the verse play "Asylum Song." Born and raised in Delaware County, Beaumont has taught at Rutgers University, the Stonecoast MFA program and the 92nd St. Y.
Residents with questions can contact Dr. Ethel Rackin at [email protected].
Upcoming
- Sept. 25: Poet laureate submissions due at bucks.edu/poetlaureateentry
- November: Winner honored at reading and reception, Bucks County Community College
