Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.® Announces Northwest Indiana’s Poetry Showcase

Center for Creative Solutions, Inc.® Announces Northwest Indiana’s Poetry Showcase for World Creativity & Innovation Week and National Poetry Month

Northwest Indiana poets, April is for you! Throughout the month, the Center for Creative Solutions will celebrate both World Creativity & Innovation Week, April 15-21, and National Poetry Month.

All poets residing in La Porte, Porter, Lake, Starke, Jasper, Newton and Pulaski Counties are invited to share their work in the 10th annual “Juried Showcase of Poetry.” Indiana University professor, writer and poetry contest judge, Dr. William Allegrezza, is back again to share his expertise.

For students K-12, the Center for Creative Solutions will bestow 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place honors at each grade level, according to Ester, Poetry Showcase chair, its co-founder, and Center Board member. Poems submitted by adults will be judged separately and have specific guidelines, which can be found at https://www.centerforcreativesolutions.com/poetry-showcase.

“The milestone of the 10th year has provided us another opportunity for the residents of Northwest Indiana to try writing poetry from kindergarten to adult age. Each year, we are all visibly moved by the depth of feeling the poems evoke, from soul-touching to humorous. The poets instill a beautiful sense of community, and we gather as equals from the first time to the career poet,” said Ester.

“Make your poem humorous or thoughtful, fantastical or serious. Submit more than one poem if you would like. Don’t forget, songwriters, your lyrics are poetry as well. Challenge and surprise yourself. Please consider creating and sharing your words with us,” noted Ester. Poems can be of any length or form: narrative, dramatic, or lyrical and from haiku to epic. Student poets may write their poems on any topic that inspire them, or use the topics located on the Center’s website.

Winning student and adult poets will read their poems at a special “Afternoon of Poetry” on Sunday, April 19, 2026, 1:00 p.m. at the La Porte County Visitors & Convention Bureau in Michigan City. Top poems will be published in major publications throughout Northwest Indiana, including The Beacher.

Poems must be submitted by midnight Friday, March 27, 2026, online at https://www.CenterforCreativeSolutions.com/poetry-showcase. When submitting poems, students should include their full name, school, teacher’s name, and grade level, county they live in, and age (this information will not be shared with the judges). Winners will be notified on or before April 12, 2026.

Questions can be directed to Ester at thenestmichigancity@gmail.com.

Northwest Indiana’s celebration is part of a world-wide network of communities recognizing the creativity of every person. To see how the rest of the world is celebrating World Creativity & Innovation Week, go to https://wciw.org

Community partners so far for World Creativity & Innovation Week include Art-on-the-Air, Lakeshore Public Media; Divine Vintage Story Walk; La Porte County Visitors & Convention Bureau; Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest Indiana; The Nest; Westville Public Library; and WIMS Radio. The week’s celebration is made possible in part by the Bethany Church Foundation of La Porte, and the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information, go to the CenterforCreativeSolutions.com, send an email to creativity52@comcast.net or telephone 219-326-7259. The Center is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging a culture of innovation in Northwest Indiana.