Finalists of the annual Richard Eberhart Poetry Contest will be share their poems at 6 p.m. on Monday in the Hormel Historic Home.

In January and February, students created an original poem to be submitted and reviewed for the contest. A panel of judges reviewed the submitted poems and announced the finalists at the end of March.

“A Night with our Poets” is an event featuring the readings of the Eberhart Poetry Contest finalists from Austin Public Schools. The finalists from each building were invited to read their poem during the event. Finalists are asked to invite an adult or teacher who has inspired them to be a poet and share a few comments about that person. The event is open to the public.

The Richard Eberhart Poetry Contest is sponsored by the Austin Public Education Foundation and coordinated by the Gifted and Talented Education program in Austin. Winners of the contest will receive a cash award of $25 in kindergarten, $50 in elementary and intermediate, $100 in middle school, or $200 in high school, funded by the Austin Public Education Foundation.

Richard Eberhart, 1904 to 2005, was a Pulitzer-prize winning poet who emerged in the 1930’s as a modern stylist. Eberhart’s childhood started in Austin, where his father was the vice president of the Hormel Meat Packing Company. The Eberhart Family Poetry Contest began in 2005 when the children of Richard Eberhart established the contest to honor their parents. The Eberhart Family donated the endowment funds necessary to generate the income for the annual contest awards.

Any questions about the event or the competition, contact David Wolff at 507-460-1912.