"We Are Water" Poetry Contest Open Now

September 1, 2025

We are thrilled to join Lansing Poet Laureate Ruelaine Stokes in announcing the "We Are Water" Poetry Contest, open to residents of Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton Counties here in mid-Michigan.

The contest celebrates fresh water and Lansing's Tollgate Wetlands, a stormwater management area on Lansing's east side conceptualized and built by Ingham County Drain Commissioner Patrick Lindemann. Five winners will each receive $150 and their winning poems will be featured on permanent signs to be installed along the walking trail at Tollgate Wetlands.

The deadline for entry is October 17, 2025. Full guidelines as well as writing resources and more information are available here. To view or download a contest flyer, please click here.

 

Guidelines

The contest is open to residents of the Tri-County Area (Ingham, Clinton & Eaton counties), age 10 and older.

Poems are to celebrate water and/or Lansing’s Tollgate Drain Wetlands or a similar natural environment that features water. Each poem should mention water in some way, i.e., fresh water—as distinct from the salt water found in oceans. (See writing advice & prompts at the contest website)

You can submit up to 3 poems, each with no more than 25 lines, including title and lines between stanzas.

We will not accept poems that have been previously published, poems that are being simultaneously submitted to other publications, or poems that have been produced by AI.

Deadline: All poems are due by 11:59 PM, Oct. 17, 2025.

 

Submission instructions

Submit each poem individually by email, by Oct. 17, 2025, to PoetryPathway71@gmail.com
Type your name in the Subject line, along with the title of your poem.
Attach 2 copies of your poem to your email (each in a Microsoft Word document). One copy should contain your full name, your age, address, phone # and email address. The other copy should not include any identifying information.

Prizes

Five (5) winners will each receive a $150 cash award. The winning poems will also be featured on Poetry Signs by the walking paths in the Tollgate Drain Wetlands, 1101 N. Fairview Ave., Lansing 48912.

This project has been made possible by the Academy of American Poets, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, The Ingham County Drain Commissioner, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP), the RCAH Center for Poetry at MSU, and the Lansing Poetry Club.

For more information, visit https://www.ruelainestokes.com/wearewater/ or email PoetryPathway71@gmail.com