Submissions are now being accepted for the fourth annual Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant. The $1,000 grant is awarded each April to the competition winner. Applicants must be unpublished poets aged 17 or older and reside on the East End of Long Island (Riverhead and points east).
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 poet herself, she sought to share “this most complex of cultural achievements.” Bliss was the founder and curator of the Shelter Island Poetry Project which 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 is “Beginnings and Endings.”
To apply for this grant, register on the Shelter Island Public Library website or contact Liz Larsen at llarsen@silibrary.org to receive an application and guidelines. Submissions may be made on the Shelter Island Public Library website or in person. The deadline for entries is Friday, March 14. 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 grant is funded by the late Mike Zisser in honor of his wife, Bliss Morehead.
Staff Writer on Jan 13, 2025