Celebrate National Poetry Month in Your Local Community!
You’re invited to join us for the following FREE, poetry-filled programs and events:
Latrobe Poetry Neighborhood
CALL FOR POETRY!
Want to see your poetry printed on a beautiful poster and displayed in shop windows in Latrobe, Ligonier or Greensburg? Send us a poem (only one) under 25 lines by February 25, 2026 in order to be included. Everyone who submits will be published, as long as the basic guidelines are met:
● Your poem (only one) must be under 25 lines (or 300 words, whichever comes first)
● Your poem can be on any subject, but it can’t contain explicit content or any hateful speech
● You must live/work in Westmoreland County.
● It must be submitted to poetryneighborhood@gmail.com in a pdf form by February 25th
● Please include your name and address and which town you want it posted in–Latrobe, Ligonier or Greensburg
Ligonier Valley Writers 36th Annual Student Poetry Contest
CALL FOR CONTEST SUBMISSIONS!
Student Poets Are Invited to Enter LVW's 36th Annual Poetry Contest
LVW’s Student Poetry Contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The contest is celebrating its 36th anniversary. In each of nine categories, first prize earns $25, second prize $20, and third prize $15. For the best of the best in each grade group, the Naccarato Award, each of the three winners will receive $30. This means there are 30 cash prizes—and no entry fees.
Due to popular demand, we will now be accepting entries via online forms, which we hope will make life easier for teachers, students, and contest coordinators. You’ll find the entry form here. Teachers you may want to send LVW’s site to your IT department to make sure it’s whitelisted. Visit https://www.lvwonline.org/spcrules to learn more and view examples of previous poetry contest winners.
Please email info@lvwonline.org if you need assistance.
The deadline is March 11, 2026
If you're a kid who likes to write, try writing a poem every day for the next week. Then pick the one you like best to revise and submit. To jumpstart your creativity, here are a few prompts. Write a poem about:
* any strong emotion
* an animal you love
* a place you hate
* your favorite athlete or sport
April 1 - 30 (entire month): Weaving a Poem
Time: Latrobe Art Center Regular Operating Hours
Location: Latrobe Art Center
Cost: FREE
Celebrate National Poetry Month with a collaborative, community poetry activity! Visit Latrobe Art Center during regular operating hours through the month of April, and respond to the question: “What Brings You Joy?” All of the collected, anonymous responses will be woven into a poem and displayed at the closing “Poetry Party” event on April 30th for the entire community to enjoy.
April 9 & 16: Magic in Our Community: A Rain Poetry Workshop
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Latrobe Art Center
Cost: FREE
Children ages 7-14 are invited to join us in learning about Haiku poetry, making art, building community, and begin creating their very own Haiku poems together! All poems will be revealed to the community at the “Poetry Party” celebration taking place on April 30th at Latrobe Art Center. (See the graphic below for full details and information.)
April 17: Poetry Reading by Nationally Known Poet George Bilgere
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Latrobe Art Center
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Celebrate the art of a poetry with a special visit and live reading by nationally recognized American poet George Bilgere.
George Bilgere grew up in California and now teaches at John Carroll University in Cleveland. He’s received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council, was a Fulbright scholar in Spain, and was named a Witter Bynner Fellow through the Library of Congress by U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. His work has earned a Pushcart Prize and a Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cleveland’s Community Partnership for Arts and Culture.
April 18: “Rants & Odes”: A Poetry Workshop with George Bilgere
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Ligonier Library
Cost: FREE and open to the public; Pre-Registration NOT required
Participants will read poems by Naomi Shihab Nye and Tony Hoagland and write their own poems inspired by those readings. Writers will share and discuss their work in a lively workshop discussion.
April 25: LVW Student Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Location: TBA
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Ligonier Valley Writers’ Student Poetry Contest, and enjoy live readings by the student award winners in grades 4-12.
The deadline for contest entry is March 11th. Visit https://www.lvwonline.org/spcrules to learn more and submit your entries!
LVW’s Student Poetry Contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The contest is celebrating its 36th anniversary. In each of nine categories, first prize earns $25, second prize $20, and third prize $15. For the best of the best in each grade group, the Naccarato Award, each of the three winners will receive $30.
April 28: “Poetry Party” at Latrobe Art Center
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: Latrobe Art Center
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Celebrate the end of National Poetry Month with a night of poetry readings, games and activities, refreshments by Ricolita’s Cafe, and more while meeting poets participating in April’s “Poetry Neighborhood” project!
April 30: Gratitude Soup Storytime & Collage Creation
Time: 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Ligonier Valley Library, 120 W Main Street, Ligonier, PA 15658
Cost: FREE and open to the public
Children of all ages and their parents/caregivers/grandparents are invited to attend this Poetry Neighborhood event. Participants will listen to the storybook titled “Gratitude Soup” written and illustrated by Olivia Rosewood. Then, they will create their own gratitude soup collage with provided craft materials.
April 30: Ragan Poetry Contest & Reading at Saint Vincent College
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Verostko Center for the Arts (Located inside the library at Saint Vincent College)
Cost: FREE and open to the public
This Year’s Contest Judge & Visiting Poet: Nancy Krygowski is the author of The Woman in the Corner, named one of 2020’s top 100 poetry books by Library Journal, and Velocity, winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press. She teaches in Carlow University’s Madwomen in the Attic writing workshops and is a member of the Pitt Poetry Series interim editorial committee.
The Ragan Poetry Contest was established in 1995 through a generous gift from Dr. James Ragan, a 1966 graduate of Saint Vincent College, who was the Director of the University of Southern California’s Graduate Professional Writing Program. The $250.00 cash award honors Dr. Ragan’s parents, John and Theresa Ragan, and is intended to encourage interest in poetry among Saint Vincent students.