Participate in the Words & Wonders Poetry Contest and share your poetry with Orlando!

To celebrate National Poetry Month, share your poetry with Orlando in the Words & Wonders Poetry Contest.

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we're excited to announce the next theme for the Words & Wonders Poetry Contest: Slice of Life in Central Florida.

This theme was inspired by the anthropological work of Zora Neale Hurston, but southern life in Central Florida could mean different things to different people. What she was really good at was documenting life as it were. So as the creative writers you are, let's create poems that highlight often hidden gems around southern Central Florida life, such as the sights, the sounds, the smells, the activity, the ideas, etc., anything that comes to mind when you think about a "Slice of Life in Central Florida."

Winning poems will be displayed at the Orlando International Airport this summer.

Poems should be original work and short, no longer than one page. Poems can include free verse, rhymes, etc., whatever suits your vision of the poem.

Even a haiku of 17 syllables can seize a moment and give it lasting impact. Writers of all ages are welcome. Writers under 18 are requested to list their age in their entry.

Photos of inspiration can be included but are not required.

Writers of all ages are welcome. Writers under 18 are requested to list their age in their entry. The challenge is open to residents of Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties. First place winners can only win once a year. 

Orlando’s Poet Laureate Shawn Welcome will review and choose poems to share with the community, and recognized poets will receive prizes. Winners will be announced the week of June 16, 2025, on the City of Orlando's social media channels and will be contacted directly. 

Selected winning poems will be displayed at MCO from July 15 - October 28, 2025.

Submit your work by June 1 at 5 pm. Visit Orlando.gov/poetrycontest.

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