To celebrate National Poetry Month in April, the Annapolis Poet Laureate invites poets of all ages to participate in a fun “Gongshi Poetry” challenge. If you’d like to take part, visit the “Nature’s Readymades” exhibit at the Mitchell Art Museum at St. John’s College in Annapolis. The exhibit comprises an extraordinary selection of gongshi (scholars’ rocks or viewing stones) on loan from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The stones have been carved by nature and cherished by Chinese literati as early as the Tang dynasty (7th c.).

“The exhibit asks the question, ‘Is there art in nature?” says Jefferson Holland, who was appointed as the Poet Laureate by Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley in 2024. “My question is, ‘Can you find a poem in one of these stones?’ If so, visit the museum, select a stone as a muse, write a poem about it – any genre, any length – and submit it by the end of March.”

A limited number of selected poets (owing to time constraints) will be invited to share their work at a reading hosted by St. Johns College and the Mitchell Art Museum on Friday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m. If you’d like to participate, please send a note of intent to AnnapolisPoetLaureate@gmail.com by Friday, March 15.

The Mitchell Art Museum is open to the public Wednesday and Thursday, 12:30 – 6:30 p.m., Friday from 2 – 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 – 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, and the facility is ADA compliant. See the St. Johns College web site for parking and directions: sjc.edu.

Poems must be submitted as a Word doc or PDF and should include a photograph and title of the selected stone, plus the poet’s name, email address and cell phone number. They should be sent to AnnapolisPoetLaureate@gmail.com no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, March 31, 2025.

Poems may be included in a future chap book publication. Poets will retain all rights to their work.

Questions? Contact Jefferson Holland at AnnapolisPoetLaureate@gmail.com.

The role of the Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis is to support a greater appreciation of local people, places,