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Poetry

April Poetry Month Contest 2026

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The Spring Poetry Contest is upon us! This year’s prompt is “Blooming.”  

All paid members of Writers of Kern are invited to write a poem and apply.

Word count is up to 1,200. Please use a Word document with no names or other identifying marks. Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, double-spaced, and use the attachment function to send your submission. 

Submissions will be blind judged using a rubric with the following parameters: form, originality, figurative language, message, and meter. The rubrics that Writers of Kern uses can be found on our Rubrics page.

Submissions will be accepted from April 1, 2026 through April 30, 2026. Submissions received before or after those dates will not be accepted. 

Please send your submissions with the subject line “April Poetry Contest” to Sandy Moffett: sm@sandymoffett.com 

Prizes of $100, $75, and $50, if applicable, will be awarded at the May meeting.

May Honors Breakfast 2025

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May Honors Breakfast – Members and Guests Only

Please note that this Awards Breakfast will be held at our usual Saturday morning meeting time.

It’s time for our May Honors Breakfast.  Unlike our “teaching” meetings, this meeting is a breakfast, a social opportunity, and a time to honor those who have met certain goals.

Peggy Connelly Scholarship Presentations*
April Poetry Month Contest Awards*
Robert C. Hargreaves Achievement Award
Writers of Kern Active Member Pinning

If you have been traditionally published within the last 12 months you will be honored with the Robert Hargreaves award.  Please let us know asap if you have qualified for that honor.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to Bethane Banks at president@writersofkern.com for more information.

At the meeting, there will be an opportunity basket and time to share your latest writing (five minutes each).  In addition, there will be games and prizes, and a writing prompt if you would like to participate.

*All entries will be judged according to a rubric and must meet the standards of the rubric to be considered for an award.

We look forward to seeing all of our members and their special guests.

Members $20 and **Guests $20
(**If you are bringing a guest and would like to pay below, choose “Member” and then select 2 people, so you can pay for you and your guest at the same time.)

Meeting on Saturday, May 17, 2025
Breakfast begins at 8:30 am
The general meeting begins at 9:15 am
Hodel’s at 5917 Knudsen Dr, Bakersfield

Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting and Workshop Fee. Breakfast is included.

April Poetry Month Contest

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The Spring Poetry Contest is upon us! This year’s prompt is “Windows.”  

All paid members of Writers of Kern are invited to write a poem and apply.

Word count is up to 1,200. Please use a Word document with no names or other identifying marks. Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, double-spaced, and use the attachment function to send your submission. 

Submissions will be blind judged using a rubric with the following parameters: form, originality, figurative language, message, and meter. The rubrics that Writers of Kern uses can be found on our Rubrics page.

Submissions will be accepted from April 1, 2025 through April 30, 2025. Submissions received before or after those dates will not be accepted. 

Please send your submissions with the subject line “April Poetry Contest” to Sandy Moffett: sm@sandymoffett.com 

Prizes of $100, $75, and $50, if applicable, will be awarded at the May meeting.

Bed-Time Stories by Mark Fisher

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my dreams float like balloons in a blue sky
above forest and farms, a castle with moat
and all the fairy-tale landscape lying nearby
my dreams float

in among a sea of stars I lie afloat
and waves seem as words to my eye
showing me a story my father wrote

of magical worlds to which he would fly
to adventures on islands in seas remote
and to these lands I cannot deny
my dreams float

Mark A. Fisher is a writer, poet, and playwright living in Tehachapi, CA.  His poetry has appeared in: Silver Blade,  Penumbra, Reliquiae , and many other places.   His poem “there are fossils” (originally published in Silver Blade) came in second in the 2020 Dwarf Stars Speculative Poetry Competition.

Three Haiku Concerning…by Darlene Stotler

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What a Wise Man Saw
Holy angel guards
Christ gestating within child
While Mary cradles~

What a Wise Man Heard
Jesus smiles as mirth
springs from Mary’s lullaby
Footsteps cease~knees bend~

What a Wise Man Felt
Ringing quiet awe
Heralding innocent strength~
Eternal Life, Love

Darlene Stotler, who prefers to go by “d,” has been a freelance writer for more than 28 years whose works include human interest newspaper and magazine articles. A retired teacher of English, she realizes a career is uber important and fulfilling, but it’s family, faith and friends that remain her “fixed mark.”