It’s National Poetry Month! The Academy of American Poets first designated April as National Poetry Month in 1996, and it has continued to be celebrated annually to raise awareness and appreciation for poetry. The Writing Center and Eberly library are happy to join the celebration together by hosting a Poetry Slam on April 14, 2026, from 5-6 p.m. in the Skylight room in Eberly.
For our poetry celebration, theater students will start off the evening by performing some award-winning slam poetry. Then, students, staff and faculty can read poems of their choosing, and we will wrap up the night with a poetry contest for original works including cash prizes for student poets: 1st place, $50; 2nd place, $40; 3rd place, $30; crowd favorite, $25.
This year's theme poem chosen by the Academy of American Poets is "The Chance" by U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze. Sze's words, "even if the darkness precedes and follows / us, we have a chance, briefly, to shine" seems particularly apropos to the brief, but formative, university experiences of our students.
Students who want to participate in the contest should email the title of their poem by April 10 to the Writing Center Administrator, Sarah Scott, sscott@waynesburg.edu. Poems for the contest must be students’ original creations (i.e., not AI), and memorization is not required. Each poet should aim for no more than a 3-minute performance time. Poems will be judged on originality, creativity, delivery and overall impact.
The students had fun with this event last year and requested it again this year. We would love to have as many participants as possible, so please come share poems with your friends and applaud (or snap) for poetry!
