Thank you for your interest in the Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant. This grant was established in 2021 by Shelter Islander Mike Zisser in memory of his wife Bliss Morehead. Zisser was a poet and curator who contributed greatly to the poetry community on Shelter Island for many years.

Bliss Morehead was relentless in pursuit of the perfect word or phrase and thought poets would “likely spend the rest of our lives trying to make it better and never be satisfied.” She expected poetry to be challenging and wryly noted that her poems “might be headaches but...are never bores.” She set the bar high.

The grant of $1,000.00 and will be distributed annually. It is open to unpublished poets from the East End of Long Island (Riverhead and points east) and Shelter Island only. Poets must be 17 years or older. Poems will be accepted between now and March 14th, 2025. The winner will be chosen by a three-member board of judges. The winning poems (including two runners-up) will be announced on April 4th and there will be a poetry reading at the Shelter Island Library featuring the winning poem on Friday, April 25th.

The theme for 2025 is “Beginnings and Endings.” When writing your poem, please remember these words from Bliss, “I am a professional writer, editor, and creative consultant, and over the years words have been very good to me. I, in turn, have been good to them right back - taking none for granted, weeding out the excessive and overwrought so the best may shine, becoming passionate over a ‘,’ versus a ‘...’ Style and diction and point of view matter a lot to me; I think about them on a daily basis.”

Please submit your poem and application via the Shelter Island Library website: silibrary.org. You may also submit your poem email with “Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant” in the subject line to Liz Larsen - llarsen@silibrary.org or by mail to Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant Committee, Shelter Island Public Library, PO Box 2016, Shelter Island, NY 11964.

Thank you again for your interest in the Bliss Morehead Poetry Grant. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Larsen at llarsen@silibrary.org

Kind Regards,
The Shelter Island Public Library