Poetry Contest: Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred

Merton Prize for Poetry of the Sacred

What is poetry of the sacred?

Poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy or that, by its mode of expression, evokes the sacred. The tone may be religious, prophetic, or contemplative.

Contest Guidelines

Deadline for submissions: Received by December 31, 2009.

First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $100 each.

Winning Poems will be published in The Merton Seasonal, a publication of scholarly articles about noted spiritual leader Thomas Merton and will be posted on the Merton Institute web site

Only ONE unpublished poem type written in English may be submitted.

Please limit the poem to no more than 100 lines.

Type your name, address, phone number, FAX number, email address, and the title of your poem on a cover page. Attach (1) one copy of your titled poem to the cover page.

Submit your poem on a page with no identifying information. All identifying information should be on your cover page.

If you are submitting your poem via email, the poem must be sent as an attachment saved in Word 2003. Any other format will not be accepted.

Submit poem to:

Merton Institute

2117 Payne Street

Louisville, KY 40206

Or email to:
vhurst(at)mertoninstitute.org (replace (at) with @) as a Word 2003 document attachment.

No Faxed entries will be accepted.

No poems will be returned.

Poems will be judged on literary excellence, spirit
ual tenor, and human authenticity.

Winners will be announced by April 1, 2010. Please visit the Institute website for contest results.

All contestants will be notified via email of the contest results.