Sacramento Poetry Day

Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin named October 26th Sacramento Poetry Day in 1986 to honor a group of local poets.

Ten Twenty Six is a reimagining and reintroduction of Sacramento Poetry Day for this generation.

This year’s Sacramento Poetry Day will include the debut of a locally sourced curriculum that includes poets being paid to appear in classrooms around the city, a cash prize poetry contest for youth, the development of a living Sacramento poetry collection, a community celebration, and a few other surprises that we’ll be rolling out on the way.

Be a part of the historic celebration.

Youth Contest
Open to all Sacramento youth currently enrolled in grades K-12, The Sacramento Poetry Day contest is really more of a drawing and it costs one poem to enter. This is not a talent competition. This is about getting as many kids to write poems as possible. Winners will be drawn at random. Cash prizes include one $500 prize, one $300 prize, and two $100 cash prizes. All work must be original and composed by the student entering.

Curriculum
The Ten Twenty Six poetry curriculum can be used all year around and meets many California education standards. This 39-page curriculum contains age appropriate lessons that foster both literary and social-emotional learning for grades K-12. All poems were contributed by living Sacramento poets who currently perform and publish work around the city. Poems, lesson feedback, and reflections from students are encouraged.

Poetry Day Collection
We are still looking for poets of all ages and poems of all forms, genres, lengths, and styles for the Sacramento Poetry Day collection! Sacramento residents of all ages can submit poems and be entered into a drawing for one of five $125 cash prizes.

This collection will be a resource offered throughout the city. Language must be appropriate for students. No racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or hate speech will be tolerated. Poets will be contacted upon acceptance.

Winners of the collection drawing will be announced on Sacramento Poetry Day 10.26, but the collection will stay open for applications all year. To be eligible for the $125 poems must be entered by 5pm October 25th.