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Welcome to the website of the Iowa Poetry Association! Through this website and other links, we invite members of IPA and the general public to keep in touch with other poets. The Iowa Poetry Association is a non-profit organization whose sole objective is to promote interest in and appreciation of poetry among Iowans through educational opportunities, poetry writing contests and the publication of our annual anthology of Iowa poetry, Lyrical Iowa.

The IPA newsletter is published quarterly with news on events and members of the association, as well as submission and contest resources for poets and resources for teachers.

Each year, IPA offers two workshops in the Des Moines area, where poems are critiqued by eminent teachers, editors or publishers. Submissions of poetry to be critiqued are accepted as indicated. Please check guidelines on our Events page.

IPA is now going LIVE! with monthly mini-workshops and readings via Zoom! More information on the IPA LIVE! page.

• LYRICAL IOWA 2023: Order your copies now, while supply lasts. Order here.


• 2023 Lyrical Iowa Competition Winners Adult and Student Divisions. Winning poems will be posted after October 1st. Meet our Judges for the 2024 Competition!


• Check out the line-up for the 2023 IPA LIVE! program! Oct 10 will feature Lyrical Iowa winners and judges. And on Nov 8, judge Michael Dylan Welch will discuss "Haiku Targets."


• Coming soon--poetry events near you! See the Poetry& website for details on Harken to Verse on Oct. 6 and Poetry on the Prairie Nov. 11-12!


• Some photo highlights of the NFSPS annual convention, Catch Poetry: Stage and Page, June 21-26, 2023


• More NEWS here

Can you help us find some older back issues of Lyrical Iowa?
We are attempting to archive our complete collection of Lyrical Iowa, but are still missing the following issues: 1946, 1951, 1955, 1956 and 1964. Please let us know if you hear/see of estate sales, libraries, individuals disposing of old issues. Please contact Heather Clark