Poetry contest accepting submissions this month

Whatcom County residents can submit a poem to the 2019 Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest during March.

Now in its 14th year, the free contest is open to people of all ages and experience levels.

Two Bellingham poets, Jessica Lohafer and Christopher Patton, will pick 25 winners, who will have an opportunity to read their poems at a free awards ceremony on May 16 at 7 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Avenue and will be hosted by the Bellingham poet Kevin Murphy.

The winning entries will be displayed inside WTA buses, and 10 of the winning poems will also be displayed on a plaque outside the Bellingham Public Library.

The deadline to submit a poem is 6 p.m. on March 31. Poems can be submitted by email to BoyntonPoetryContest@hotmail.com.

If submitting by email, poems should be attached as a Word document titled with the name of the poem. Alternatively, poems can be mailed to Boynton Poetry Contest, P.O. Box 1192, Bellingham, Washington 98227 or delivered to Mindport Exhibits (210 W. Holly Street) or Film is Truth (1419 Cornwall Avenue, Suite B) during business hours.

For the full list of submission guidelines, please go online and visit thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com/contest.

Winning poets will be notified by phone or email by the end of April.

According to the contest website, the contest is named for Sue Crocker Boynton, an early resident of Whatcom County who helped organize Bellingham’s PTAs and St. Luke’s Hospital Assistance League.