Poetry Parade at Gallery Vertigo Contest Guidelines

A Conversation with our Judge

Harold Rhenisch and Devon Muhlert were recently in conversation. He is our Judge for Gallery Vertigo’s Poetry Parade, a contest that will culminate in a November 22nd reading event. A generous man, Rhenisch has assisted emerging poets to get their work into the world.

The unique and visionary flair in his writings comes sometimes with whimsical illustrations and humour. He has 34 books to his credit, with another one forthcoming, co-authored with Canadian poet Susan McCaslin. In the past he won the George Ryga prize, a CBC contest, and had just returned from travel to accept the Sunshine Coast Writers’ and Editors’ prize for a poetry volume. A real feather in Vernon’s cap is that two of the three declared winners are from Vernon: Rhenisch and Virginia Dansereau.

In another example of his generosity, Rhenisch offered to MC the November evening event. Naming the Poetry Parade winners will be final, but he commented that he could engage to explain the rationale behind his decisions.

The contest promises to be an exciting time for both well-known and emerging regional poets. The November event will unfold with perhaps six invited readers and an open mike opportunity for those who would like to read their original poetry. The 3-minute time limit (including getting on and off the stage), allows each open mike reader one poem and hopefully encourages those apprehensive of a longer presentation. So set up your keyboard and e-mail your piece by October 25—we look forward to your participation.

Rules & Guidelines

Poetry will be presented at a spoken word event at Gallery Vertigo on November 22^nd, 2025, 7-9 p.m. Winners are required to attend to read their winning work to an audience and display their written work at the gallery. Other participants are also encouraged to attend and read.
Prizes are as follows: $100 for 1^st; $50 for 2^nd; $25 for 3^rd.
Entries will be accepted online between October 1^st and November 8^th; no entries will be viewed after the November 8^th deadline.
Only one person writing one poem. Poems should be submitted using the form below.
Each poem must be contained on one page, 35 lines maximum, written in English; the font must be 12 point font, Times New Roman. The author retains copyright but the Gallery reserves the 1^st rights to display the work.
Entry fee is $15. One submission only from each applicant. Instructions for submitting your fee are detailed after the entry form below.
All entries will be read and a shortlist created. The judge will then read and determine the winning entries. The winners will be notified in advance of the reading so that they can plan to attend the November 22nd Poetry Parade at Gallery Vertigo.
Theme is open. Poems containing vulgar, hateful, discriminatory, profane or otherwise offensive language may be disqualified at the discretion of the judge.
Only original work will be accepted. This poem must not have been previously published, or accepted for publication, or have been a winner in a previous contest. If it was shared on the internet, it is considered published. AI generated work is disqualified.
No text alterations will be allowed after the work is submitted.
Members of the Gallery Vertigo administrative team are ineligible for the contest.
Poems are judged on artistic impact and writing skill. The judge’s decision is final but he will be happy to explain his thinking.
Eligible for Poets from: Vernon, Coldstream, Lumby, Armstrong, Enderby, Salmon Arm, and their outlying regions.
Submission Deadline: Open from October 1, to November 8, 2025.

Entry Form

Each space below must be filled in completely.

Full Name

Address

City

Postal Code

Phone Number

Email Address

Poem Title

Line Count

Agreements

I confirm that this poem is my own original work.
I understand that submitted works may be published or displayed by the organizers (with credit to the author).
I read and agree to abide by the contest rules.
I acknowledge that this poem has not previously been published or accepted for publication or won a prize.
I guarantee that this work is not created in any way by AI, ChatGPT, or other such programs.
I give Gallery Vertigo the right and license to reproduce and recreate the work of winners and use it for marketing purposes, as well as the right for it to be used in audio and video format.

Attach Poem (Only these filetypes are accepted: pdf, txt, doc, docx, rtf)

Fee Submission

The easiest way to get the fee to Gallery Vertigo is to do an e-transfer from your bank. Please specify “galleryvertigonoaa@gmail.com” as the transfer destination. If you are unable to do e-transfers, we can take the payment directly during opening hours. Please specify that this is for the poetry contest and what email address you used on the form above.