The Poetry Society of South Carolina
Skylark Prize

Part of PSSC's mission is to encourage the writing of poetry by South Carolinians, and so we have a special contests for young poets. The Skylark Prize is a student competition for which guidelines are sent to every public school in the state.  In addition to the $500 award, the student is invited to read the poem at a PSSC meeting to honor both student and teacher.

The prize is named after Master Skylark, written in 1922 by Charlestonian John Bennett, a founding member of PSSC. About a young singer in the time of Shakespeare, the book was a top seller for many years.

Below we present poems by a few past winners of the Skylark Prize, and some links to help teachers and students develop prize-winning poems.

Download the Guidelines as a pdf.

Download PSSC's Ten Tips for Writing as a pdf.


Poetry by Skylark Prize Winners
2011
Allison Cooke, "Butterfly Road"

2010
Victoria Sharpe, “Letter to Gloria”

2009
Noah Roy Fram, “Memories”
Resources for Students and Teachers
Teen Ink
An on-line magazine for students with poems and books written by teens, including discussions of poems, reviews, and comments.

Inspiring Teachers
Master teachers share their unique teaching strategies and techniques. Weekly tips and a word of the day.

Speak2bfree
A social networking site for spoken word poets, with slam contests and feedback.

Poetry 180
A poem a day for American high school students

Poets.org for educators
Lesson plans, poems to teach, poetry read-a thon

AdrianBruce.com
Scaffolds and lessons to help teachers “create a passion for poetry writing in your students”

About.com
Glossary, poetry tour, articles for teachers and students, and more
Click here to visit PSSC on Facebook.