The Garden Party Collective presents: Mental Health (Poetry Contest #2)

We at the GPC were heartbroken to learn the news of Christa Vander Wyst's passing (Jan. 2024). She was a beautiful light in our group, and to her friends and family, and we're all still processing her loss.

Discussing how we could best honor her, we knew mental health was always an important subject for Christa--she was already planning to host a contest soon through our collective for poets who have struggled / are currently struggling with mental illness.

As such, we at the GPC have started a yearly contest in tribute to Christa and her legacy.

Furthermore, we will be partnering with Christa's family to pick the 3 winners for this yearly contest--each receiving $100 in prize support.

For 2024, we accepted submissions during National Suicide Prevention Week (Sep. 8th-14th)
We had +180 poets enter the 2024 contest!
The GPC and Christa's family will together select 3 winners!
out of respect to her family, please no poems explicitly about Christa or her passing.
while this contest is for poets who are currently struggling with or have struggled with any mental condition(s), the poems themselves can be about any topic.