POETRY CONTEST

Submissions are open through June 29th

Please submit poems to: amoa@actx.edu

Generous support for this project provided by Art Bridges

 Attention area poets, the Amarillo Museum of Art invites all writers in the Texas Panhandle and surrounding area to submit poems for AMoA’s Home, Love and Loss Poetry Contest and Home, Love and Loss Poetry Book. $500 in prizes will be awarded for the top 3 poems. Winners will be announced at Family Day, August 9th and will have the opportunity to read their poems at the event. Selected poems will be published in the Home, Love and Loss Poetry Book.

 1st place $250

2nd place $150

3rd place $100

Poems can be written in any poetic style. Subjects of poems must focus on the themes explored in the exhibition, Home, Love and Loss.

  1. A poem in its entirety must be an original work by the person entering the contest.

  2. Only one poem per person is allowed.

  3. Poet must be at least thirteen years of age.

  4. Contest entries must be at least 3 lines and may not exceed 500 words.

Poems containing language that is vulgar, offensive, or wholly inappropriate will not be accepted.

About the Jurors:

 Wes Reeves

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle town of Wellington, Wes Reeves developed an insight into an enigmatic land and its inhabitants. In his 2022 compilation of poetry titled Yellow Dirt, Reeves reveals the vibrancy of a region by corralling the immeasurable Plains with the language of the unseen. Since 1991 Reeves and his wife, Kim, have lived in Amarillo where they raised two children. He has spent the last 28 years working in corporate media relations and community relations. He volunteers his free time to help preserve and celebrate the history and cultures of the Texas Panhandle.

 

Seth Wieck

Seth Wieck’s stories, essays, and poetry have been published in magazines such as Narrative Magazine, Belle Point Press’s Mid/South Anthology, and the Broad River Review where he won the Ron Rash Award in Fiction. He earned his MFA from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and his debut collection of poetry will be published with Wiseblood Books in 2026. He lives in Amarillo with his wife and three children.