The call for poetry for 2026 opens on June 14th. We invite poets to join us for a walk through Beals Preserve and respond to the art with a poem. The top 28 poems submitted (two for each artwork) will be published in the 10th edition of Art on the Trails, due out in September 2026. Selected poets will receive a free copy of the chapbook.
How it works:
- Visit Beals Preserve, see the installations, and be inspired by their work. A gallery of the art can be found here.
- If you can not visit the Preserve, you can also view videos by the artists on our YouTube channel after June 15. You can also view the work on our website gallery beginning in June.
- Free guided walks will be offered through the month of July.
- Write ekphrastic poetry, which is written specifically about or inspired by the installations in this exhibition.
- Poetry Submissions will be accepted from June 15 through July 31, 2026
The top 26 poems will be sent to our final judge. Our judge will choose a first prize winner who will receive a $100 prize.
The 2026 Poetry juror is Laura Gunnells Miller.
Laura Gunnels Miller is from the mountains of southeast Tennessee. Her work appears in Tar River Poetry, Artemis Journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Abyss & Apex Magazine, Salvation South, Art on the Trails (Southborough, Massachusetts), Equinox, Mildred Haun Review, Tennessee Voices, and elsewhere. She won first prize for her poetry in the 2025 Art on the Trails poetry program.
