OPA again hosting Ohio Poetry Day Celebration in 2022

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) will again be hosting a virtual celebration of Ohio Poetry Day (OPD) this year, featuring the Ohio Poet of the Year and poetry contest winners. The event will be held on Zoom and broadcast live on the OPA Facebook page on Saturday, October 15 beginning at 12:30 PM. Full event details and registration info is available here.

The 2022 Ohio Poet of the year is Erica Manto-Paulson, chosen for her collection, Hunger (Finishing Line Press, 2021). Paulson’s poems have appeared in Thimble Literary Magazine, Sheila Na Gig, the Northern Appalachia Review, Slippery Elm, and elsewhere. She was a 2021 Pushcart Nominee, and her work has also been featured on NPR's "Conrad’s Corner" (WYSO).

An Ohio native, Erica is a doula and childbirth educator, which drives her ongoing obsession with birth in its many forms. She finds inspiration for her poetry in the fertile fields of her home state, drawing on a deep connection to the surrounding world. She and her husband live in Washington Township with their blended family of nine. Together they own Nurture, a perinatal women’s studio, in Hyde Park, Cincinnati.

During the celebration, Paulson will read a selection of poems and be interviewed by OPA's podcast (Poetry Spotlight) host, Jeremy Jusek.

OPD Contest Winners

The OPD Association has announced the winners of its annual contests. The winners are listed in the images below. Congratulations to all the winning poets!

Any poet wanting to read their winning poem(s) during the OPD celebration should email the OPA at team@ohiopoetryassn.org.

Poetry Spotlight: Karen Schubert - Poetry of Hybridity (podcast transcript S2, E4)

Jeremy Jusek: Welcome to Poetry Spotlight presented by the Ohio Poetry Association. I am your host, Jeremy Jusek. And with us today is Karen Schubert. Karen Schubert Karen is an author, co-founding director of Literary Youngstown, and multi-genre talented writer who has published poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, essays, reviews, interviews, and any other views you might consider. She's published six books, and her prose poem collection I Left My Winds on a Chair was the Wick Poetry Center poetry winner. Her awards include the William Dickey Memorial Broadside Award, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in Poetry, and has held residencies at the Headlands Center for the Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. To learn more about Karen, please visit karenschubertpoetry.com . Karen, thank you so much for joining us. Karen Schubert: Oh this is such a kick, thanks so much for bringing me on. I’m honored and chuffed. JJ: Thank you! The pleasure’s all mine. Do you wa...

2026 Ohio Poetry Day Contests Now Open for Submissions

Our friends at the Ohio Poetry Day Association have announced their annual contests! May 15, 2026, is the deadline (postmark) for two dozen contest categories. Categories include humor, formal poems, parody and more. As always, a “Welcome Aboard” category for first-time submitters and an art category to design the cover art for the 2026 Best of Ohio Poetry Day anthology are also open to submissions. Below is a copy of the submission form, which provides full contest information. Ohio Poetry Day 2026 will take place in October in Toledo, Ohio. Stay up to date on event information, including the event date, location, and agenda, by getting your name and address on the OPD mailing list. To do so, contact: Amy Jo Zook 3520 State Route 56 Mechanicsburg, OH 43044 Checks for all contest fees and purchases should be made payable to: Ohio Poetry Day . For questions, call (937) 834-2666. Click and download the image below to view it at full size.

Odes of October 2025 Contest Winners Announced

OPA is pleased to announce the following winners in its 2025 Odes of October contest. First prize is awarded for "Lemons in the Seventeenth Century," by Marci Rich. First prize includes an award of $65 and inclusion in the 2026 issue of Common Threads, as well being published below. Second prize goes to John Hunt for his poem, "Only the Blues." This prize includes an award of $25, will be published in the 2026 issue of Common Threads, and appears below. Third prize goes to Jonathan Smith for "40 Leaves.". This prize includes an award of $10, will be published in the 2026 issue of Common Threads, and appears below. This year, the judge also chose four poems for Honorable Mention: Shirley Valencia's poem, "Oblivion" Rosalie Hendon's poem, "Penelope to Odysseus" Jo Anne Moser Gibbon's poem, "I Contain Multitudes" Jonathan Smith's poem, "Where Jane Goodall Stood" Sincerest than...

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