Help us cover Urbana in poetry! Submit a short (2-4 line), family-friendly poem of your own creation to the Library. In August and September, the poems will be printed on yard signs and given out to the community to be displayed all over Urbana. For information on how to submit a poem, see the submission guidelines listed below.
Not sure how to write a poem? The Library will be holding workshops where community members can learn how to write a variety of poems from local poets. Dates for the workshops are listed below:
- Saturday, 6/11 at King Park – Poems Across Urbana Children’s Writing Workshop
- Wednesday, 6/15 at The Urbana Free Library – Poems Across Urbana Haiku Workshop
- Sunday 6/26 at Crestview Park – Poems Across Urbana Quatrain Writing Workshop
Submission Guidelines
Saturday, May 15 - Tuesday, July 5
Submit a short (2-4 line), family-friendly poem of your own creation to the Library by emailing the poem to programming@urbanafree.org.
Submissions from all ages are welcome.
- The poem should be 2-4 lines long and can be attached as a pdf or included in the body of the email.
- All poetry submissions must be your original work.
- One submission per person.
- Please include your name with the poem. Parents or guardians submitting a child’s work should include the name of the child as the author.
- The poem can be submitted in the language of your choice, but please include an English translation.
- All poems will be displayed anonymously, and each poet will receive a sign with their poem printed on it.
Submissions will be accepted from Saturday, May 15 through Tuesday, July 5.
By submitting your work, you grant The Urbana Free Library permission to display the poems as part of this project, and to use photos/recordings of the works in publications and display spaces to promote the value, and use of, Library products, services, collections, and spaces to support and advance the mission of the Library and to raise awareness of everything the Library has to offer.
Starting in August, yard signs with the poems printed on them will be available to everyone – community members and businesses - to take home and display. Whether you submitted a poem or not, you’re welcome to pick a yard sign (or two!) and display it to share the artistic creativity and talent in Urbana.
Supported in part by a City of Urbana Arts Grant.