Poetry Contest

Contest Opens: March 1, 2026
Contest Closes: March 31, 2026 (6pm)

Guidelines: This poetry contest is open to young people, ages 8-18, who live in the Clatskanie School District and adults from the Lower Columbia region.
Entries are limited to two poems per person.

Youth Poetry Contest
This poetry contest is open to young people, ages 8-18, who live in the Clatskanie School District. Awards will be presented for first and second place winners in each of the following age categories: Ages 8-11, Ages 12-15, Ages 16-18
Download youth poetry contest guidelines and entry form

Adult Poetry Contest
This poetry contest is open to those aged 18 and over who reside in the Lower Columbia area. Awards will be presented for first and second place winners.
Download adult poetry contest guidelines and entry form

Awards will be publicly presented to winners on May 9th as part of the Raymond Carver Writing Festival.

POETRY CONTEST JUDGES 2026, RAYMOND CARVER WRITING FESTIVAL

Youth Estrella Brown, Jaye Nasir, Armin Tolentino
Adult Jason Arias, Dayle Olson, Cliff Taylor

Armin Tolentino
Armin Tolentino is the author of the poetry collection We Meant to Bring It Home Alive (Alternating Current Press) and coauthor of the children’s book, Mythwakers: The Manananggal (Hope Well Books). He served as poet laureate for Clark County, WA from 2021-2023. He earned an MFA at Rutgers University-Newark and is a former Oregon Literary Arts Fellow, Carolyn Moore House Writer in Residency, and Atticus Hotel Artist in Residency. More info at www.armintolentino.com.

Cliff Taylor
Cliff Taylor is an enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. He is a writer, poet, speaker, and storyteller. His essays and poems have been published both online and in print. He is the author of two books, most recently a poetry collection, The Native Who Never Left. Learn more on his website, cliffponca.com.

Estrella M. Tamayo-Brown
Estrella was born in beautiful Hawaii surrounded by the scents of tropical flowers.  She received her BA and  M Ed from the University of Portland.  Now, it is the beauty of Oregon that enthralls her.  She was reading specialist for Portland Public Schools for three years and then an English teacher at Camas High School for 30 years.  She and her husband have enjoyed the quietness of their Clatskanie farm for 19 years.

Dayle Olson
Dayle Olson is a Lower Columbia poet and a zealous Raymond Carver fan. She is a former first prize recipient in the Oregon Poetry Association annual competition, as well as a recent Northwest Voices featured writer at Lower Columbia College and Longview Public Library. Her poetry chapbook, From the Dead Letter Department, published by Moonstone Press in 2025, was awarded Honorable Mention in their annual contest. Dayle lives in Cathlamet with her husband, David.

Jason Arias
Jason Arias lives and writes on the Oregon coast. He is the author of the short story collection Momentary Illumination of Objects In Motion (Black Bomb Books, 2018), the poetry collection nostraDAMus 2032 (Broadstone Books, 2024), and the handstitched chapbook Patteran (2025). His writing has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.

Jaye Nasir
Jaye Nasir is a poet and fiction writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Buckmxn Journal, and Heaven Looks Like Us: Palestinian Poetry, and has been supported by the McCormack Writing Center, Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology, Hedgebrook and the Atticus Hotel. You can find her at jayenasir.weebly.com.