Arc's Poem of the Year Shortlist Announcement

 

Arc Poetry Magazine is very pleased to announce the shortlist for our 2025 Poem of the Year Contest! From over 900 poems submitted to the contest this year, the Arc editorial team is proud to name the following ten poems as this year’s finalists:

• eh·luh·jee for the ded by Saemah Mushtaq
• The Essential Involvement of the Harpist by Catherine St. Denis
• Harrison River Valley, November by Rob Taylor
• Hermeneutics by Cassandra Eliodor
• IN RESPONSE TO MY WHITE MANAGER WHEN SHE SAID I WAS ‘SLURPING MY NOODLES LOUDLY LIKE A LITTLE ASIAN’ by Claudia Yang
• On Crete by Ellie Sawatzky
• Quietus by Georgio Russell
• Saucer Magnolia by Andrea Scott
• What Haunts Me Most by Dominique Bernier-Cormier
• What I Mean Is Shock by Dominique Bernier-Cormier

Arc’s annual poetry contest is among the richest in the country, offering $5,000 for the winning poem, a $500 award for the poem selected as Honourable Mention, and a $250 prize for the Readers’ Choice selection. Speaking of which, the Readers’ Choice Award is open for votes from the public until May 15, 2025. After reading the shortlist, you can cast a vote for your favourite to win the $250 prize, but only one vote is allowed per individual, and Arc reserves the right to disqualify results that appear to have been obtained by suspicious voting practices.

The Poem of the Year Contest winner will be revealed in Arc Poetry’s Summer 2025 issue and on our website in early August.