Poetry competition opens, inspired by Shelter Islander Bliss Morehead

The Shelter Island Public Library has announced that applications are now welcome for the fourth annual Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant.
This grant of $1,000 is awarded each April to a poet to honor the memory of Bliss Morehead, a Shelter Island resident who dedicated much of her life to the art of poetry. As a student of poetry, and a gifted poet herself, she sought to share with her community “this most complex of cultural achievements.”
Ms. Morehead was the founder and curator of the Shelter Island Poetry Project that produced the annual April Poetry Month readings at the Shelter Island Library.
As the curator of the Poetry Project, she called upon poets and readers of poetry to present carefully selected poems revolving around yearly themes. The theme for 2025’s contest is “Beginnings and Endings.”
She wrote tirelessly about what she called “the frustrating and occasionally illuminating work we all take upon ourselves when we are snatched up by the demanding nanny/muse and forced to admit that yes — we are poets. Or are attempting to be poets.”
In opening this competition to new poets, the library aims to encourage those of you who have taken up the challenge of writing poetry to share your creations with our neighbors and readers.
To apply for this grant, register on the Shelter Island Public Library website — shelterislandpubliclibrary.org — or contact Liz Larsen at [email protected] to receive an application and guidelines.
Applicants must be unpublished poets aged 17 or older and reside on the East End of Long Island (Riverhead and points east).
Submissions can be made on the Shelter Island Public Library website or in person. The deadline for entries is Friday, March 14, 2025. The winner and runners-up will be announced on April 5 and will be invited to a poetry reading at the library on April 25. The winning poem will be published in the Reporter.
The library acknowledges with thanks the support of the late Mike Zisser for this memorial to his talented wife, Bliss Morehead.