Celebrate National Poetry Month in April by entering the Troy Hayner Cultural Center’s Third Annual Poetry Competition.

The Hayner Center is inviting area poets, adults and students to submit their original, unpublished poetry to be judged for cash prizes. The competition is open to anyone living in Miami County and the surrounding counties of Montgomery, Clark, Champaign, Greene, Preble, Shelby and Darke.

The poems will be judged in four categories: elementary k-6, junior high 7-8, high school 9-12 and adults. David A. Petreman, professor of Modern Languages at Wright State University, leads the WSU faculty team for judging this event. First through third place in each category, plus several honorable mentions are historically awarded for this competition.

“As with any art form, it’s about personal expression. The poems that have been entered in the past have been really diverse in style and form, but the ones that rise to the top tell stories or express emotion,” said Hayner director Linda Jolly.

Added this year is the option for poets to have their poems considered for submission in the Hayner Poetry Book.

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held in April each year. Publishers, booksellers, literary magazines, libraries, schools and poets across the country band together to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture.