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Welcome to the 28th Anniversary of the Carl Sandburg Student Poetry Contest!
2026 Theme: Unity
The scaffolding holds the arch in place
till the keystone is put in to stay.
Then the scaffolding comes out.
Then the arch stands strong as all the
massed pressing parts of the arch
and loose as any sag or spread
failing of the builders’ intention, hope.
“The arch never sleeps.”
Living in union it holds.
So long as each piece does its work
the arch is alive, singing, a restless choral.
-Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes
Students are invited to submit a poem to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site’s annual Student Poetry Contest. The contest encourages youth to explore writing their own poetry and is open to students nationwide!
Contest Rules
Submissions are accepted from grades 3-12 and must be submitted by email by Monday March 2, 2026. See below for submission rules.
Winners will be notified by April 10, 2026, and will be invited to participate in a virtual celebration program on Sunday, April 26.
Poetry accepted from 3-12th grades only. Poems will be grouped for judging by 3-5th, 6-8th, and 9-12th.
Poems must be submitted by a teacher (traditional classroom or homeschool teacher).
No more than three poems per class. Teachers with multiple classes, can submit up to three poems per class period.
Poem will be judged on its ability to communicate the theme.
Poem can be written in any style but must not exceed one-page in length. No illustrations.
Poems must be typed, no handwritten entries, using standard computer fonts, like Times, Arial, etc...
After completing and submitting this form, the poem should be emailed to carl_education@nps.gov.
Poem should be submitted as one file as a .pdf only
There are several free apps to turn a phone pic into a .pdf if you don't have a scanner available.
File name should be StudentLastName_PoemName.pdf
Do not place any identifying information (name, school, grade, etc...) on poem sheet. The file name will be used to match with this form submission.
Judges from the literary community will make the decision for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place within each grade category (3-5th, 6-8th, 9-12th).
Poetry Partners
The 2026 Poetry Contest is a result of tremendous community support including the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, and literary volunteers who serve as judges. Thank you!
Carl Sandburg captured the voice of America by speaking for "The People". His free verse style of poetry, journalism, biography, children's stories, prose writing, and commentary about social issues of the day provided a popular voice for the American people. As the child of Swedish immigrants, he was inspired by the idea that this country was made up of people from all over, united as one country. This year's theme of "Unity" asks you to think about what being united means to you!
Poems submitted for the 2026 contest should reflect the theme of "Unity." By definition: "the state of being united or joined as a whole." Note: Poems do not need to be titled "Unity" they just need to reflect that idea in a poem.
