Hello friends of poetry! I am writing today to announce the 2018 annual Naomi Cherkofsky Contest, deadline April 1. We love our North Shore poets, but we welcome poets from across the state and the nation. The entry cost is $3 per poem, maximum 5 poems per entrant; the individual must be 18 years of age or older. The poet is free to choose any subject and any style, but there is a maximum of 40 lines.

We award three monetary prizes but, in the interests of spreading the wealth, a poet may only win one. They are: 1st prize ($50), 2nd prize ($30) and 3rd prize ($20). We also choose a number of honorable mentions.

Most importantly, we hope all our participants, their friends and acquaintances who enjoy poetry will join us at our annual National Poetry Month celebration, Saturday, April 21, 11 to 2 p.m., Beverly Public Library. Our winners are invited to read their poems, after which there will be an open mic for interested attendees.

So, there is plenty of time to put pen to paper or computer fonts to screens for this contest, which was funded by the wonderful, generous Naomi Cherkofsky.

May the fires of creativity keep you warm!

P.S. The poems must be original and not previously published or granted monetary prizes in other contests.

P.P.S. Please tell your poet friends!