The Mississippi Poetry Project

Writing About Nature

Dear teachers:

As Mississippi’s new Poet Laureate, I am delighted to continue the Mississippi Poetry Project created by my friend and predecessor Catherine Pierce. Now in its fourth year, the Mississippi Poetry Project is an annual statewide poetry-writing initiative for students in grades K-12. All Mississippi educators are invited to bring the Poetry Project into their classrooms this fall! The prompt for this year’s poetry project is “Writing About Nature: A Place I Love (or, A Place I Hate).”

Catherine’s description of the project is so informative that I hope you will forgive my quoting from it:

“The goal of the Mississippi Poetry Project is to help students experience the joy and accomplishment that can come from writing poetry, and from sharing their own voices, words, and experiences.

“Along with this letter, you’ll find the poem prompt and tips for you to share with your students. We know that days are tightly scheduled, and our hope is that this project can be done in whatever way best fits your class: in as little as 30 minutes on one day or, if time allows, spread out over multiple days; as a standalone activity or as part of an existing lesson plan. Most importantly, we hope that this project will provide a joyful and creative outlet for students and teachers alike.

“Poetry is for everyone. There’s no wrong way to write a poem, and words can be a tremendous source of delight, play, and comfort. Thank you so much for your help in making this initiative a success, and for all you do in helping to bring the joy of writing to your students.”

Best wishes,

ANN FISHER-WIRTH

Poet Laureate of Mississippi, 2025-2029

mspoetry@olemiss.edu

Writing About Nature: A Place I Love (or, A Place I Hate)

This prompt asks you to think about experiences you have had outdoors and choose one to write about. This experience might be something that happened once, or something that happened many times. It might be something that happened on vacation, or something that happened visiting family, or in a neighborhood park, or in your own back yard. The possibilities are wide open. The important thing is that it involved being outdoors.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself, to get started:

*What is the most beautiful place in nature that you have ever been?

*What are your favorite flowers? Plants? Trees? Insects? Animals, besides pets? Sounds in nature? Colors in nature? Land formations—mountains, swamps, fields, meadows, forests? Bodies of water?

*What is the happiest experience you have had in nature—hiking? Fishing? Taking photographs? Playing with a pet? Playing with friends? Having picnics with your family? Sleeping under a tree? Exploring? Just sitting quietly?

*Have you had an experience in nature that you hated?—getting poison ivy? Getting lost? Getting hurt? Getting bitten?

*Do you have a secret hideaway? Do you grow things? Do you study things in nature? Do you play games outside? If you had a wish for the place you love, or for the place you hate, what would it be?

Don’t forget to give your poem a title. This might be the name of the place or experience you are writing about, or it might be a word or phrase that occurs to you as you think about your poem. And when you are working on your poem, make sure to use images and details to appeal to your readers’ senses and make what you are writing about come alive. Have fun! I can’t wait to see what you write. ~ Ann

The Mississippi Poetry Project 2025: Writing About Nature. Questions: mspoetry@olemiss.edu

OVERVIEW:

The Mississippi Poetry Project is a statewide poetry initiative for students in grades K-12. All students across Mississippi are invited to participate. Each participating school will select three winning poems per grade, which will be sent on to the statewide competition. All school-wide winners will have their winning poems published in a contest anthology and be invited to share their work at a reading and celebration.

SHARING STUDENT WORKS:

Poetry Display

A poetry display is a great way to help students feel pride in the work they’ve done. Choose a section of the classroom or the hallway and hang your class’s poems up for all to read and enjoy.

Poetry Readings

Listening to poetry really helps it come alive. Invite students to share their work out loud (and encourage the rest of the class to clap when each poet is done reading).

In-class Poetry Parties

There’s something wonderful about writing in a community with others. Turn this project into a community-building exercise by making writing a festive experience–depending on students’ ages, anything from snacks to colorful markers to the opportunity to sit in groups or outside can help students experience writing as something exciting.

School-Wide Sharing

Invite students to share their poems during morning announcements–a way to start the day by celebrating student creativity!

Social Media

If your school or class has a social media profile, share the work you and your students are doing with the hashtag #mspoetryproject.

Have other ideas for ways to celebrate your students’ poems? Let us know at mspoetryproject@olemiss.edu!

TIMELINE:

1. During the fall, students will write poems using the attached “Writing About Nature” prompt.There is no minimum length; poems should be no more than 30 lines.

2. By December 8, schools will select three winning poems per each grade. There is no official contest rubric, but judges (selected by each school) should consider the poem’s use of specific detail and overall creativity/originality. Each of these school-wide winners will have their poem published in the contest anthology.

Winning poems should be emailed to mspoetry@olemiss.edu by December 8.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION:

Each poem should include a title and the author’s name below the title.
Each poem should be submitted as an individual Word doc (feel free to send multiple files in one email).
Each poem should be saved as [Grade Number]_[School]_[Student’s Last Name]. For example: 5_South Elem_Johnson.

3. The winning poems from each school will be entered into the statewide poetry contest. Statewide winners will be announced by February 5, 2026, and will be invited to give a reading of their winning work at a celebration to be announced.

Questions? Email mspoetry@olemiss.edu

Download the MS Poetry Project 2025-2026 Anthology

Click here for the full list of 2025-2026 Mississippi Poetry Project statewide winners.
Click here for the full list of 2024-2025 Mississippi Poetry Project school-wide winners.
Click here for the full list of 2024-2025 Mississippi Poetry Project statewide winners.