Now in its sixth year, Poems Around Town invites poets from Vermont and the tri-state region to submit their work for display throughout downtown Brattleboro. Selected poems will be featured in local business windows for the entire month of April, offering moments of beauty and reflection to residents and visitors alike as they explore downtown. 

A printed flyer listing participating businesses along with each poet’s name and poem title will be available. To help broaden the reach and share even more poetry around town, some poems will also be duplicated and displayed in Canal Street businesses. We’re so grateful to Severia Drake of Byway Books & More for helping facilitate this effort again this year.

Poems Around Town (PAT) Submission Guidelines

• Poems must fit on one page.

• Font size must be at least 14-point and easy to read (such as Times New Roman, Cambria, or Helvetica).

• A maximum of two poems may be submitted.

• Each poem should include the author’s name and town of residence at the bottom of the page.

• Poems must have been written within the past year.

• If a poem has been previously published, please include publication information at the bottom of the poem or in a cover letter.

Email submissions as attachments to info@writeaction.org.

Please include “PAT” and the poem’s title or first line in the subject line. Submission deadline: February 28

A public reading featuring this year’s Poems Around Town poets will be held at the end of April. Date and venue will be announced soon. Poems Around Town is co-sponsored by Write Action, Brooks Memorial Library, and Byway Books.

We look forward to reading your work and sharing poetry throughout Brattleboro this spring!