Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Contest 

2015 Contest

Young Audiences of Northeast Texas has been an arts in education advocate for Northeast Texas communities since 1997, enhancing the lives and education of students through enriching arts experiences. Last year, we joined forces with the Rusk County Poetry Society (RCPS) to present the 2014 Poetry in Schools Contest, continuing their 40 year tradition of honoring our talented student poets.

This year, County Line Magazine merged their eight-year Northeast Texas annual poetry contest with Young Audiences and RCPS to help create an even larger impact on children in the region through their readership. 

We are also joined this year by Region 7 Education Service Center, using their educational resources and organizational skills to assit in getting the highest participation from schools in the region, as well as using their outstanding facilities to host our awards ceremony.

Last but not least, we have partered with InSpiritry, a company that provides presentations and services using written and spoken words to transform lives, organizations, and communities. Owner Anne McCrady serves as artistic director for the poetry contest as she did previously for many years as a member of the Rusk County Poetry Society.

The 2015 Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Contest is open to all children from 1st to 12th grade in the Northeast Texas area. Poems must be submitted through teachers and be original, unpublished poems. Deadline for entries is March 1. All entries must be submitted online. All winning poems will be required to submit a parental approval form before their poems awards are finalized and published. Failure to do so will resutl in the poem being disqualified. More instructions on the parental permission form process will be given to teachers of winning students.

First, second, and third place awards are given for each grade at an awards ceremony in April. Winning poems are published in the May/June County Line Magazine and in the 2015 Winners Anthology.

The Rusk County Poetry Society will award a $500 Mary Craig Memorial College Scholarship — named for their late founder — for the 12th grade first place poet.

For more information, see the links on the menu bar of this page.