Lakewood, WA— Lakewold Gardens is seeking original, unpublished poems for inclusion in the 2025 Winter Poetry in the Gardens event. Poems should be no longer than approximately 1,000 words or no more than five minutes in duration when read aloud, preferably with a theme related to gardens and/or the celebration of nature.
Participants must be Washington State residents and be available to record their poems and have headshot photos taken onsite at Lakewold Gardens the week of February 10, 2025. Poets of all backgrounds and ages are invited to participate. Lakewold Gardens strives to promote contributions from communities that have been traditionally underrepresented. Poets who identify with or are part of these communities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Selected participants will be celebrated at a special event on February 22, 2025 where they will be invited to read their poems aloud. Their poems will receive a professional headshot and will record their poems which will be accessible via the Lakewold Gardens website and signs placed throughout the gardens from February to September. Cash prizes of $500 for first place, $400 for second place and $300 for third place will be awarded. Submissions will be blindly evaluated by a panel comprised of outside experts and Lakewold Gardens’ Executive Director and Curator of Art and Music. Only one entry per poet will be accepted. Entries will be accepted until January 17, 2025.
Interested poets can apply via the Lakewold Gardens website: https://lakewoldgardens.org/gardenpoetry. For more information, contact Ricardo de la Torre, Curator of Art and Music at rdelatorre@lakewoldgardens.org.
