It is February, a month when young and old turn to thoughts of love, Valentines, and, of course, sonnets. It is also the month when the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest opens to receive new submissions.

2023 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest Call for EntriesEntries are now being accepted for the 2023 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest. The entry process is a one-step system. Sonnet(s) must be submitted with the Entry Form. Complete instructions for entering are available on our website. The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is an annual event that welcomes entries from around the world. Cash prizes, totaling over $3,000, will be awarded in several categories, including:Top Four Sonnets Regional (Four Winners – Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa) Best Youth (Four Winners – High School and Younger) Laureate’s Choice (Sixteen Winners)There is a $5 Entry Fee for up to three sonnets per entry. There is no fee for entrants in the Youth category (high school and younger) or for undergraduate college students. For complete contest information, visit:sonnetcontest.org The deadline for entries is June 1, 2023. Submissions should be made through our on-line process, with payment option by PayPal or check. If this process presents a hardship, instructions for entering by mail will be provided upon request. Just send us an email: entries@sonnetcontest.org

Based in Winona, Minnesota, this magnificent yearly contest is a treasure and an opportunity. Past winning sonnets are listed on the MWF website (link above). Why not read some for fun, and then, if the spirit moves, try writing one of your own? You just might have a prize-winning sonnet of your own! Not sure how? The Sonnet Contest website includes guidelines as well as examples, and lots more information about poetry and the arts.

And, while sonnets have been connected for hundreds of years to love poetry, the sonnet is an incredibly flexible and dynamic form that can express a multitude of tones, emotions, ideas, and imagery.

Want more sonnets? The Academy of American Poets is offering a month of sonnets on their Poem-a-Day pages. Curated this month by guest editor Patricia Smith, each day in February 2023 will love poems in sonnet form by African American poets–honoring also National African American History Month. Here is an interview with Smith (in print and in recorded voice clip form) and a bit more about her own work as a poet.

And if you already have a favorite sonnet, I would love it if you would let me know!

Happy February!