Poems for Action 2025
We’re excited by the theme for the Diverse Verse 2025 annual call for poetry by young poets (grades 3 -12): Poems for Action!
Theme: Poems for Action
We invite young poets in grades 3 through 12 to craft a poem that is a call to action during Poetry Month 2025 and to send it to us via the submission form. Young poets may interpret the theme of action in whatever way they wish:
What would you like to change in our world?
Can you craft a poem that serves as a call to action for a topic about which you feel passionate?
Selected poems in each age category will be published on our website. All participants will receive a printable certificate to honor their time and effort.
Note from the Diverse Verse Team
We want to remind young poets that it is the ACT of writing and rewriting that makes us poets. We would love to showcase each and every poem we receive, but we have limited space. We want to share that choosing a poem to highlight on our page is always very difficult for the judges. We want you who are reading this post to ensure that every young poet answering this call is aware that any such decision is always highly subjective. So please keep taking action by writing poetry.
We will honor each young poet who takes action by submitting a poem with a participation certificate. Those whose work is published on our website will receive an additional certificate.
We look forward to reading your poetic call to action!
April is poetry month in the United States, but wherever you might be in the world, we wish you a happy time this April as you read exemplars, write your own poems, revise and polish them, and send them to us! Please remember - for a chance to see your poem featured on our website - you must submit your poetry via the form and during the submission period. Thank you so much for participation!
Entry Form
Requirements
Poems must relate to the theme of ACTION
The length of the poem must not exceed 30 lines (longer poems will be disqualified)
Multi-lingual poems are welcome with English translation
Authors must declare their poem to be their original work, created without adult assistance or use of generative AI
An adult (parent, guardian, or teacher) may submit one poem on behalf of each young poet*
Submitted work must list the entrance category for consideration: Elementary (grades 3-5), Middle School (grades 6-8), High School (grades 9-12)
Home schooled students are welcome
To enter
Individual poems MUST have the following information on EACH page or poems will be disqualified:
Poem title and entrance category
Student’s name and grade level (only the student’s first name and grade level will be published)
Adult’s name and email —parent, guardian, or teacher (the email address must accept external emails)
Upload poem via the Google Form no later than April 30, 2025
*Students under 18 must have adult permission to enter this contest, due to COPPA guidelines
Three poets will be chosen (one in each category). Each will receive an award certificate from Diverse Verse.
Selected entries will be published
on the Diverse Verse website.
Winning poems will be announced on May 15, 2025.
Exemplars
Below are three examples of “poems for action” for each grade category. We hope this will help inspire young writers as they prepare to submit their own work to inspire action on a cause that they feel passionate about.
For All Grades
Before young poets read the exemplars below, here is an excellent guide to reading poetry, written by professor, poet, and founding member of Diverse Verse, Anindita Basu Sempere
Elementary (Grades 3-5)
Some picture books, as we have discussed in previous blog posts, are illustrated poems. Here are a few lyrical and poetic picture books that introduce the idea of poetry for action to very young poets.
In the picture book I SEE COLOR, poet Valerie Bolling calls on us to call out racism by speaking to the fact that we do see differences in color - and that we must begin by acknowledging this truth if we are to live up to Rev. Dr. MLK Jr.’s dream that one day will be judged solely “by the content of (our) character.”
Innosanto Nagara’s A IS FOR ACTIVIST is an unapologetic picture book that uses rhyme and alliteration to invite young readers to celebrate community and to demand justice.
SAFE HARBOR by Padma Venkatraman is a novel in verse in which two children find a stranded seal on a beach, and, when they try to rescue it, begin to involve their community in taking small and large actions to save our planet.
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
In this Walter Dean Myers Honor winning novel in verse, FOREST WORLD, Young People’s Poet Laureate Emeritus, Margarita Engle, sings the story of two children who take action to save the forest that they love, which is home to an endangered species of butterfly.
This is Not A Small Voice by Sonia Sanchez is a profound poem that is nonetheless accessible to thoughtful middle graders about the power of each individual voice.
Here is a marvelous recitation by young readers in author and educator Lisa Stringfellow’s class of the poem “Rock the Boat” by Elizabeth Acevedo that is sure to inspire young poets.
High School (Grades 9-12)
“All poetry is a call to action” wrote Amor Towles, in his novel, A Gentleman in Moscow. Indeed, poetry has always been used to inspire action to create a more just and equitable world. Here are three powerful examples of poems that serve as calls to action:
Election Year by Richard Blanco is an exquisite poem in which a garden grows into a metaphor for the poet’s nation, the future, and the whole world.
This is the Honey by Mahogany L. Browne serves as a call to resist social injustice through the poet’s words that honor Black heritage and act as a testament and testimony to resilience.
Pledge Allegiance by Natalie Scenters-Zapico is a searing look at immigration and the intersection of race and immigrant identity as well as the cruelty of separating parents from children because of immigration policy.
FAQ
Will all entries be read?
Yes. Judging will be conducted by a panel of authors who belong to Diverse Verse who will read each submission.
What personal information will be published, should a student’s poem be selected?
Diverse Verse requires permission from a parent or guardian in order to consider publication of a minor's poem. An adult's email address is required in the entry form. We will only publish the student's first name and grade level.
I am a teacher submitting my students' poems. Google Forms only allows 10 files to be uploaded at a time. How do I submit more than 10 poems?
You may submit the form more than once or combine files.
Who should I contact if I have a question?
If you need assistance, please email Diverse Verse at: diverseversepoet@gmail.com