Ohio Poetry Association Blog

Once again in 2026, our friends at the Ohio Poetry Day Association are accepting nominations for the Ohio Poet of the Year. This is the 50th year of handing out the award, which is given for a single book of poetry published in the previous year. Past winners include Mary Oliver, Maggie Smith, David Baker, and Yalie Saweda Kamara. Guidelines are provided below.  Nomination Guidelines   The poet must be a native or a resident of Ohio or, if neither, must have previously lived in Ohio and established close ties to the state. There is no form to fill out, no fee, and no letter of recommendation is necessary. Books must be nominated by other people, such as a publisher, editor, poet colleague or poetry group. Book length: at least 48 pages of poetry.   The page count does not include: Title Pages, acknowledgments, illustrations, photographs, or end matter, such as notes. Nominated books may be from a commercial, university, small or hybrid press, or self-published, but vanit...

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) is accepting nominations for the 2025 Ohio Poet of the Year. This annual competition invites submissions to join a prestigious list of former award winners, including Mary Oliver, David Baker, Kari Gunter-Seymour, and Maggie Smith. If you've recently published a book of poetry (self-published NOT eligible) check out the rules below and throw your hat into the ring. Poet Joanne Greenway is Chair for Ohio Poet of the Year 2025. For those of you who aren’t as familiar with OPOTY, please check out this Ohio Poet of the Year Association site . Nomination Guidelines for Ohio Poet of the Year , 2025 are linked here, and also copied below for your convenience. Nomination Guidelines OPOTY  Poets are invited to self-nominate by submitting their books, along with their complete contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email) and a bio (50-100 words). Books may also be nominated by others, such as a publisher, editor, poet colleague or poet...

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) has selected Rikki Santer as its Ohio Poet of the Year for 2023. Santer was selected for her book of poems, Resurrection Letter: Leonora, Her Tarot, and Me (Materialist Press/Cereal Box Studio, 2023), a book-length sequence in tribute to the surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Santer has had published five full-length poetry collections and six chapbook sequences exploring such topics as the Hopewell earthworks of Newark, Ohio; the late Kahiki Supper Club of Columbus, Ohio; the world of ventriloquism, the art of fashion, and the classic television series Twilight Zone . She is a member of the teaching artist roster of the Ohio Arts Council, a vice president of the Ohio Poetry Association, and a member of the poetry troupe, Concrete Wink. Her poetry has been widely published and has received many honors including several Pushcart and Ohioana book award nominations as well as a fellowship from the National Endowmen...

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...

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) has selected Quartez Harris as its Ohio Poet of the Year for 2021. Harris was selected for his book of poems, We Made It to School Alive (Twelve Arts Press, 2020). Residing in Cleveland, Ohio, Harris is a second-grade teacher at Michael R. White Elementary School. We Made It to School Alive, his second collection of poetry, was inspired by his work as a teacher and gives voice to the experiences of the children he works with every day who deal with issues of gun violence, poverty, educational challenges, and more. Harris’ first book, N othing, But Skin,  was published in 2014 by Writing Knights Press. He is the first recipient of the Barbara Smith Writer-In-Resident at Twelve Literary Arts and a 2020 Baldwin House Fellow. He has been featured in the Plain Dealer, IdeaStream, and City Club of Cleveland, and recently signed on to be represented by Mckinnon Literary Agency. His works in progress are a young-adult novel and picture book bi...

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) is now accepting nominations for Ohio Poet of the Year. Handed out annually since 1976, the award is given for a single collection of poems. The award is based on the one book and not on an aggregation of work published over some time. Nomination guidelines: Poets may not self-nominate. Books can be offered by others: a publisher or editor, a college faculty or member thereof, a writers' or poets' organization, any other person of poetic standing in the state, or from the lists of books newly published that are put out by the Ohioana Library several times a year. The poet must be a native or a resident of Ohio, or if neither, must have lived in Ohio long enough to have formed serious ties to the state. (The list of former winners of Poet of the Year is below.) The nominated book must be longer than a chapbook (i.e., more than 48 pages) and not a "collected" or "complete" works. The book may be from a commercial or unive...

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) is now accepting nominations for Ohio Poet of the Year. Handed out annually since 1976, the award is given for a single collection of poems. The award is based on the one book and not on an aggregation of work published over some time. Nomination guidelines: Poets may not self-nominate. Books can be offered by others: a publisher or editor, a college faculty or member thereof, a writers' or poets' organization, any other person of poetic standing in the state, or from the lists of books newly published that are put out by the Ohioana Library several times a year. The poet must be a native or a resident of Ohio, or if neither, must have lived in Ohio long enough to have formed serious ties to the state. (The list of former winners of Poet of the Year is below.) The nominated book must be longer than a chapbook (i.e., more than 48 pages) and not a "collected" or "complete" works. The book may be from a commercial o...