Aline B. Carter began her annual poetry prize competition for young poets in the early 1940s.  After being appointed Texas Poet Laureate in the 1947-1949 term, Aline co-founded Texas Poetry Day which is held annually on October 15th.  In that spirit, the Chapel on the Dunes and Port Aransas Museum host an annual poetry competition open to all students of the Port Aransas High School and Brundrett Middle School.  An additional poetry competition is held for San Antonio students and may be accessed through the following link here.  Interested students may submit poems to a three judge panel through the proper channels provided by the museum.  The judges select winners for the respective schools after reviewing the submitted poems in various styles and forms.  Accepted forms include sonnets, couplets, haiku, and free verse.  The contest invites students to write poems on a theme to be announced each year.

Prizes:
First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention

The selected students receive a cash award and an invitation to recite the poem at a ceremony held at the Port Aransas Museum.

For the inaugural contest in 2019, the Chapel on the Dunes and Port Aransas  Museum were honored to have 2005 Texas Poet Laureate Alan Birkelbach,  2010 Texas Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton, and noted local poet Glenn Vondra sit as a distinguished judge panel.  We are grateful for their generous time and contribution to make this community event possible.

2023 Aline B. Carter Chapel on the Dunes Poetry Prize for Young Poets