Yeats Poetry Prize
The WB Yeats Society of NY is pleased to offer this annual competition in honor of our namesake, and to recognize the valuable contributions poets and poetry make to human consciousness and enlightenment. Yeats said poetry should be “the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds,” “the criticism of life,” and “the revelation of the soul of the poet.” The prize is open to anyone from anywhere in the world, regardless of age. First prize is $1,000; second prize is $500. There are honorable mentions, as well. Winners are recognized at a public event in New York City in April, which is National Poetry Month in the U.S. One or more poems on any topic up to 60 lines are eligible. Submissions and payment must be made between September 1st and February 1st at https://yeats.submittable.com/login. We also welcome mail-in entries
​
USE 'SUBMIT' BUTTON TO ENTER 2026 COMPETITION.
​
​
2026 YEATS POETRY PRIZE JUDGE
Joseph Legaspi
Joseph O. Legaspi, Fulbright scholar and two-time New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts poetry fellow, is author of three collections (Amphibian, Threshold, and Imago) and three chapbooks (Postcards; Aviary, Bestiary; and Subways). Legaspi’s works have appeared in POETRY, American Poetry Review, New England Review, Best of the Net, World Literature Today, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day, and the anthologies Language for a New Century (W.W. Norton), Reel Verse, and Buzz Words (both from Everyman’s Library), among others. He was born in the Philippines, moved with his family to Los Angeles at age twelve. He received a BA from Loyola Marymount University (LA), then an MFA from New York University’s creative writing program. With the poet Sarah Gambito, he co-founded Kundiman, a national nonprofit serving writers and readers of Asian American literature. He teaches at Fordham University and is assistant to the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia University.