"In 1938, the State of Ohio set the third Friday of every October as Ohio Poetry Day. This was the first poetry day established by a state government in the United States. Tessa Sweazy Webb spent thirteen months lobbying the Ohio General Assembly to create Ohio Poetry Day. She argued, 'For each living reader a living poet, for each living poet a living reader.' After Ohio approved Webb's idea, other states adopted a day dedicated to poetry as well." - Quotation from Ohio History Central
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Rikki Santer named 2023 Ohio Poet of the Year
[Crossposted from the OPA blog:]
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.
As an Ohio Poet of the Year, Santer joins the likes of Mary Oliver, David Baker, Kari Gunter-Seymour, and Maggie Smith. The complete list of previous Poet of the Year winners is below.
Santer will be featured at this year’s Ohio Poetry Day celebration, October 13–14. The event will feature a morning workshop, readings, and the keynote from Santer, who will read from her winning collection. See agenda details below.
OHIO POETRY DAY AGENDA
Friday, October 13, 7–9 PM: Meet and greet with Santer and previous Poets of the Year, overnight poetry contest prompt.
Saturday, October 14, 10 AM–4 PM: Evan Lodge Workshop, reading by Rikki Santer, open mic featuring Ohio Poetry Day contest winners.
Where: Troy Hayner Cultural Center
301 W. Main St., Troy, Ohio 45373
troyhayner.org
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
2023 Ohio Poetry Day Contests Now Open
[Cross-posted from the Ohio Poetry Association blog:]
Our friends at the Ohio Poetry Day Association have announced their annual contests! May 15, 2023, is the deadline (postmark) for nearly 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 2023 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 2023 will take place in October. Stay up to date on OPD 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 images below to view them at full size.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Best of 2022 Anthology Now Available!
The Ohio Poetry Day Association's Best of 2022 anthology is
now available for ordering. The collection features the winning poems in
OPD's annual contests, with more than 60 poems along with work by Ohio
Poet of the Year, Erica Manto Paulson.
All purchases help fund OPD's Poet of the Year program and are tax
deductible, as OPD is a 501(c)(3) organization. For questions, contact
call (937) 834-2666.
Ordering Information
Price: $14 (includes postage)
Mail check or money order, payable to OPD, to:
Amy Jo Zook
3520 State Route 56
Mechanicsburg, OH 43044
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
2022 Ohio Poet of the Year: Erica Manto Paulson
Registration closes October 14, 2022.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Ohio Poetry Day Virtual Celebration on October 15th
The Ohio Poetry Association is pleased to announce it will again serve as the virtual host of this year’s Ohio Poetry Day (OPD) celebration. The afternoon will spotlight the 2022 Ohio Poet of the Year. We also are inviting OPD contest winners to take part and read their winning poems. To that end, OPA will host a virtual reading on Saturday, October 15, using Zoom and will broadcast it live on the OPA Facebook page.
More information coming soon.
Monday, March 7, 2022
2022 Ohio Poetry Day Contests
The annual Ohio Poetry Day Association contests have been announced. May 15, 2022, is the deadline (postmark) for more than twenty contests, including a “Welcome Aboard” category for first-time submitters and an art category to design the cover art for the 2022 Best of Ohio Poetry Day anthology, published later this year. Below is a copy of the submission form, which provides full contest information.
Ohio Poetry Day 2022 will take place in October. Stay up to date on OPD 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.





