Bonham, Texas — The Creative Arts Center, Bonham (CACB) is celebrating the April 2025 National Poetry Month with its first “Poet Tree” event. Trees on the property will be decorated with poems submitted by local and global poets of all levels. Selected poems will be laminated and then hung on the trees around the art center, creating a growing exhibition of poems for residents and visitors to stop by and read. Submissions can be original compositions or favorite poems in the public domain, with no restrictions on form or style.
Participants are encouraged to submit their work via this Google Forms link, but poems may also be emailed directly to the center or printed and dropped off at the front desk. Works can be in any form, rhyming or not, but must fit on a single side of a sheet of 8.5” x 11” paper in at least 14 point font. Arial or Times New Roman fonts are best.
Japhnee “Jaye” Metellus, CACB’s coordinator explained that “the poems will be hung from the center's trees soon after they arrive. Every few days we’ll attach a few poems to the branches of the trees around the building. The outdoor poetry display will evolve over a few weeks from late April to mid May.”
“We really want a broad mix of poems,” says Michelle Haynes, CACB board member and host of the monthly Poetry at the Art Center poetry group. “Poets from around the world are invited to submit poems, and we especially want residents to share poetry that reflects their Texoma experience. Families can compile poems together or help little ones write a poem about the family dog. Teens and young adults always have insightful poetry ideas. Write a poem about your truck. Any topic can work in a poem.”
The poems don’t need to be new. Consider submitting old poems that are tucked away in folders or yearbooks. Dust off childhood poetry assignments. Simply type up these rediscovered works and submit them to share your creative voice.
“We prefer to have the poems submitted digitally, and don’t forget to let technology help you! If you have handwritten poems or printed copies that need digitizing, use your smartphone’s speech-to-text feature to dictate poems directly into digital form. AI tools can also quickly convert your images of text into typed documents,” says Haynes. “Also, you can ask your favorite AI assistant to help you think through your poem. Just remember that unedited AI-generated poetry will sound like AI; make sure your poem reflects you, not ChatGPT or Claude AI.”
While digital text copies are preferred, scanned or photographed copies of handwritten poems may also be accepted if they are legible. The center will only accept digitized content; no vintage or historical documents will be included in the display or kept at the center.
“We don’t want anyone to be left out just because they don’t have access to technology,” says Sandy Barber, director at the CACB. “If you need help scanning a document, just stop by the center for help.”
"We're excited to be featuring poetry at the center," notes Barber. "Poems offer a unique way to connect with others. This outdoor exhibition gives our community a fresh way to experience the power of words in a natural setting. We hope everyone from longtime poets to first-time writers will feel inspired to participate.”
“Once the event is over, we hope to collect the poems into a binder so visitors can read them in the center’s library or while sitting in the garden. Even if the poems are a little weathered, it’s okay. It’s part of their art story,” says Metellus.
For assistance, contact the Creative Arts Center at admin@creativeartscenter.org or call (903) 640-2196. The center is located at 200 W. 5th St. Bonham, TX, one block west of the Square. The center is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. To learn more about the center, go to www.CreativeArtsCenterBonham.org.
