April ’25 Poetry Contest: The Muse of Sight

Have you ever seen an image that instantly pulls you into a world where words come alive?

This April, we slightly shifted away from our usual themed contests and embraced
something fun and profound—visual poetry—inviting participants to unlock a new level of creativity through a picture prompt.
As expected, many of our participants did a remarkable job showcasing their artistic
creativity—not only through thoughtful interpretation but also through their ability to
craft evocative words inspired solely by what their eyes saw and their hearts felt.
Come with me, let's walk you through a detailed journey in April.
The contest was officially announced on April 1st, with the submission deadline set for April 9th. Within that time frame, we received a total of 246 poems from participants across various states, age groups and backgrounds.

Submission link
All of our submission entries were received via the platform’s official website;
www.yemipoetproduction.com as written in the bio of our Instagram page, @yemipoet.

Submission Criteria
Our submission criteria were basic and nothing out of the ordinary. We simply asked that each poem contain no more than four lines per stanza, with a total of three stanzas overall. The criteria served their intended purpose; not only did they allow focus and conciseness, but within those limits, they also left room for creative expression.

Evaluation Criteria
Our evaluation process was guided by clear and easy-to-apply standards.
We considered each entry based on originality, picture prompt interpretation, expression clarity, creativity, imagery, language, structure and emotional impact. This helped us maintain fairness while recognizing and respecting each poet's voice. Using the criteria above, we successfully identified our Top Thirty Poets, Top Ten Poets, and Top Three Winners and announced them on our platform on April 19th, 22nd, and 26th respectively.

Winners Spotlight

With us, there can only be three winners. Exceptions may occur, but there were none this month as we had only three winners whose works stood out based on the criteria.
Sussan Amaefule
Cracks of Becoming
1st Position

Isaac Ayodeji
Through the Wall
2nd Position

Omage Damilola
She Rises
3rd Position

Winners Award

What is a win without an award? Well, the sum of ₦75,000 was awarded to our winners in order of their position.

Recognition Award

This special award of recognition kickstarted the previous month. It is basically about celebrating  one to two (2) selected outstanding poets from our Top Ten (10) list, alongside our Top Three (3) cash prize winners.
So, here we are again;
Our spotlight feature of the month which includes an exclusive opportunity to share the works of the selected poets with fellow poets via IG story was awarded to;Poet Ruth Teibo

Moral lesson
“Nothing is ever strong enough to hold you from breaking free from limitations. Your limitations can hold you down only as long as you allow them.”

Appreciation
Expressing gratitude to our participants and audience is more like a love language at YemiPoet. Thank you for your immense support and for a fantastic April!
See you again in May.