Unlock Your Writing Potential: Students in Our Writing Competition Preparation Class Are More Likely to Secure Awards
1. What is the Leonard Milberg Poetry Prize?
The Leonard L. Milberg High School Poetry Prize is a poetry contest for high school juniors, hosted by Princeton University Lewis Center for the Arts. The judges panel will consist of Princeton’s Creative Writing department faculty: Michael Dickman, Paul Muldoon, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, James Richardson, Tracy K. Smith, Susan Wheeler, Jenny Xie, and Monica Youn. Read more about these impressive, accomplished writers below!
2. Eligibility, Deadlines, Submission Requirements
The Milberg poetry prize contest is open to all 11th grade high school students from the U.S. and across the world. There is no age limit, as long as the student is in their 3rd year of high school education, they can enter. There is no entry fee—all participants enter for free. The most recent submission deadline was June 10, 2024.
Each student can submit up to 3 poems for the competition, and there is no word/line/page limit for each poem. The Milberg poetry competition accepts both published and unpublished work, as well as work that has won in other competitions.
3. Why participate in the Milberg Poetry Prize?
Aside from the obvious prestige factor of being an Ivy League-hosted competition, the Milberg poetry prize offers many incentives for students to join.
Win big cash prizes
1st place: $1,500
2nd place: $750
3rd place: $500
Prize winners and honorable mentions will be recognized and published online.
Boost your college application
College admissions look for high school students with a well-rounded toolbox of academic skills and at least one extracurricular hobby they’ve invested much time and effort into. Show your passion for writing by participating in writing competitions and building a writing portfolio. Compile your best-written work from competitions to show off your writing skills and prove your creativity, enthusiasm, and drive. Even if this contest isn’t the right one for you, there are countless other poetry contests for high school students.
What’s so special about the Princeton program?
The Milberg Poetry Prize is hosted by Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts. This contest is special because it’s a unique opportunity to have your work be critiqued by the esteemed accomplished Princeton Creative Writing faculty:
- Michael Dickman’s Days & Days (2019) was listed by the New York Times in their list of Best Poetry Book of 2019
- Paul Muldoon has been a Poetry Editor for The New Yorker since 2007. He has also won the Pulitzer Prize, Shakespeare Prize, and many others.
- Monica Youn’s Fromwas a New York Times Notable Book and Best Poetry Book of 2023 as well as being named a best book of the year by Time Magazine, NPR, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.
- James Richardson has been a finalist for the National Book Award, and he’s been awarded the Emily Dickinson Awards from the Poetry Society of America as well as many other prestigious poetry accolades.
90% of Aralia Students Win Awards in Writing Contests
Aralia’s writing contest preparation classes have a proven track record of success. Our students consistently win awards, thanks to personalized coaching from award-winning teachers who have years of experience guiding students.
4. How to Prepare for the Milberg Poetry Prize
Ready to start writing your poems for the Milberg poetry contest? Follow these tips to be fully prepared to ace the competition.
Read past winning entries
Start by seeing what the Princeton judges are looking for in a winning entry. Read the first, second, and third place poems from the 2024 Milberg Poetry Prize Winners. Also check out the top three winning poems from the 2023 Winners and 2022 Winners.
Read recommended books
Princeton has provided a list of recommended poetry anthologies specifically for students looking to compete for the Milberg poetry prize.
- Poem-a-Day: 365 Poems for Every Occasion, edited by Tamar Brazis
- 20th Century Pleasures, edited by Robert Hass
- The Best of the Best American Poetry, edited by Robert Pinsky
Write with a structured plan
Decide on the poem’s form early on and be intentional with line breaks. Mix literary devices you’re confident in and try out a couple new ones. Keep in mind that rhythm constitutes sound, rhyme (homophony, perfect rhyme, and slant rhyme), and meter. Try writing the first and last lines first and filling the in-between. While many people think poetry is very abstract, avoid being too vague.
Experiment with new writing techniques
Do simple poetry exercises to brush up on foundations, develop new skills, and find inspiration. Analyze poetic techniques of popular songs. Pay attention to structure, metaphors, and use of other writing tactics that make the words flow smoothly. Try blackout poetry where you take a page of a book/magazine/article along with a black marker and cross out or highlight certain phrases to create a poem. Write a poem for two different speakers/with two perspectives instead of just one. Take a line from the middle of another poem and restart the poem from scratch. Cut one of your previous poems in half and rewrite/rearrange it to deliver the same message and emotions.
Stay updated on the latest poems
Look for inspiration in helpful resources online. Watch spoken word or slam poetry show/videos on YouTube. Check out Poetry Foundation’s online database of famous poems and prose and their Poem of the Day. Poets.org has almost 16,000 poems for you to browse. Subscribe to their Poem-A-Day email newsletter to get fresh inspiration every day.
Recite your poetry aloud to an audience
Participate in a live in-person or online poetry slam or open mic. Start a poetry club at your high school or organize a one-time event (these will also be excellent leadership experiences to include in your college application). You can also find local events with older speakers who might even have published work. At a poetry event, you can not only meet talented poets who can help edit your work, but also realize how your poems could be improved after reading them aloud in front of an audience. Hearing other students’ work is a great way to gain inspiration and see how your skills compare to your peers.
Practice, practice, practice
Regularly keep a journal and scrapbook to illustrate your emotions and special moments in your life. Poetry is the most artistic way of verbal expression, and most of the best poems are emotionally charged. Keep track of your different feelings, and you never know when a niche memory can become a poem.
5. Take a writing class with Aralia Education
Aralia Education offers an online Writing Competition class for students competing in various writing competitions. Aralia has a proven track record of creating successful and award-winning students yearly! We exclusively vet teachers with impressive teaching backgrounds in top-ranking US prep schools and show genuine, detailed care for our student’s academic and personal growth. Contact us for more information about the below classes!
