Skip to main content
Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable contrast.
 

POE-try Contest

Bring out your inner Edgar Allen Poe with the Bettendorf Library’s POE-try contest! Select a word from our Poe-inspired word bank and write your own poem for submission. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of each category: Adult, Teen, and Youth. Submissions are due October 31.

About the Poetry Contest

Though perhaps best remembered for his Gothic short stories, Edgar Allan's Poe true love was poetry. He wrote poetry as an adolescent, and he published his first book of poems at age 18 while enlisted in the army. Though he achieved only moderate success in his lifetime, today his name is known across the world. To celebrate Poe's literary legacy, we are challenging you to create an original poem using Poe's writings as your inspiration.

The contest will be open from September 1 through October 31, and there are three categories: Adult (18+), teen (13-18), and youth (12 and under). Submissions will be judged blind. Winners of each category will be announced on January 16 at our poetry celebration in honor of Poe's 218th birthday. Participants will have the opportunity to read their submitted work aloud at the poetry celebration, and they may also elect to have their work included in a published book of poems.

Contest Rules

  • One entry per person or group (no limit on the number of people per group).
  • The submitted poem must include one of the Poe-inspired words found in the word bank below.
  • Poems must be no more than 500 words.
  • Poems must be typed.
  • No use of AI is permitted.
  • Poems must be the entrant's original work.
  • If submitting your poem in person or through email, you must include the provided cover sheet. Only the poem title should appear on the page(s) with your poem. No personally identifying information should be included to allow for blind judging.
  • Submissions are due October 31.

Word Bank

Choose at least one of the following words to incorporate into your poem:

Hath     Heaven     Human     Plague     Laurels     Hope     Romance     Alchemy     Dearest   

Muses    Sages     Tottering     Hyacinth     Love     Sleeps     Dirge     Harmony     Specter     Cask   

Acrid   Aghast     Behemoth     Beguiling     Heart     Raven     Masque     Nevermore     Purloined   

Worm    Haunted     Valentine     Oblong     Maelstrom     Pendulum     Silence     Spectacles   

Burial    Revelation     Imp     Hoax      Belfry     Tell-tale     Sea      Mystification     Cellar     Friend   

Macabre    Tomb     Revelers     Mystery

Poem Submission

There are three ways to submit your poem:

  1. Fill out the online submission form below.
  2. Email your poem, along with the provided cover sheet, to info@bettendorflibrary.com with the subject: POE-try.
  3. Drop off a copy of your poem, along with the provided cover sheet, at the Information Desk. The library has public computers available if you need to type out or print your poem. Copies of the cover sheet will be available at the library to fill out.
POE-try Contest Submissions
Skip POE-try Contest Submissions widget