Shelter Island’s Morehead Poetry Contest underway
The Fifth Annual Bliss Morehead Poetry Contest is now open, the Shelter Island Public Library has announced. The prize, a grant of $1,000, is awarded each April to the winner.
Bliss Morehead was a resident of Shelter Island 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 us this most complex of cultural achievements. She was the founder and curator of the Shelter Island Poetry Project, which produced the annual April Poetry Month readings at the 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 2026 is “War and Peace.”Ms. Morehead 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.”
The grant is meant to encourage those who have taken up the challenge of writing poetry to share their creations.
Applicants must be unpublished poets aged 17 or older and reside on the East End of Long Island (Riverhead and points east). To apply for this grant, register on the Shelter Island Library website or contact Sara Garcia at [email protected] to receive an application and guidelines. Submissions can be made on the Shelter Island Public Library website or in person.
The deadline for entries is Friday, March 20, 2026. The winner and runners-up will be announced on April 10 and will be invited to a poetry reading at the library on April 30.
In announcing this year’s contest, the library expressed gratitude to the late Mike Zisser for this grant, established as a memorial to his wife, Bliss Morehead.
