Poetry Contest
The Enoch Pratt Free Library Poetry Contest is an annual event open to Maryland poets age 18 and older.
2026 Poetry Contest Winner and Honorable Mentions
Congratulations to the winner and honorable mentions of the 2026 Enoch Pratt Free Library Poetry Contest!
Winner
Christina Daub: “At Calvert Cliffs”
Honorable Mentions
Nnenna Aduaka: “Indigo Refuses to Drown”
Christina Borgoyn: “loss ii”
Carol Buell: “On Receiving the Gift of a Home-Grown Double Camellia”
The contest was judged anonymously by Poet Lore.
About the Winner
Christina Daub is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net–nominated poet who has taught at George Washington University and in Maryland and Virginia Poets-in-the-Schools programs. She co-founded and co-edited The Plum Review, a national poetry magazine, and curated The Plum Reading Series and Plum Writers Retreats.
Her work has been translated into German, Greek, Italian, and Russian, and she also translates poetry from Spanish and German. She is currently co-editing an upcoming anthology, Turning Poetry into Food: A Collection of Poetry X Hunger Poems, with proceeds benefiting anti-hunger causes. Learn more at christinadaub.com.
Read the winning poem and previous winners in the Enoch Pratt Free Library Poetry Contest Winners PDF.
Read the Winning PoemThe winning poem will be published in Poet Lore’s Winter/Spring issue, and all four poems will be published on the Poet Lore blog.
Join us on Tuesday, July 14, at 6:30 PM at the Central Library to celebrate the winner and honorable mentions. Learn more and register for the event.
The winning poem may also be produced as a collectible broadside. For more information, please email poetry@prattlibrary.org.
A total of 371 poems were submitted to the 2026 contest, representing 91 cities and towns and 16 counties across Maryland, in addition to Baltimore City.
If you submitted an entry, please know how grateful we are. Your creativity and voice enrich our community.
Check out our upcoming poetry events for adults:
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April is National Poetry Month. Join us to celebrate this commemoration by making collage art using mixed media and your…April 20, 3:30 PM -
Join us for a discussion of Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley, with guidance from Towson University Professor…April 25, 11 AM -
April is both National Deaf History Month and National Poetry Month, so what better way to celebrate than with Deaf poetry? …April 25, 2 PM -
Poet Brian Gilmore joins fellow poet Kim Roberts Meikle to discuss his new nonfiction book, No More Worlds to Conquer: The…April 25, 3 PM
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