As James Tate — Pulitzer Prize winner and well-known poet — once said, “Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.”

And this month, by holding their first poetry contest, Poetry Club hopes to find your inner poet.

Poetry Club, sponsored by English teacher Diane Mercer, consists of a group of students who enjoy both reading and writing poetry.

“My favorite part (about poetry club) is being with other people who love poetry and getting to hear some of the stuff they write,” club member Devonte Fuller said.

National Poetry Month, which takes place every April, is a celebration of poetry and poets. It was introduced in 1996 and organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States, according to NPR.

All throughout this month, Poetry Club hopes to raise awareness of literature and to get other students participating and learning more about certain types, especially poetry, according to the president of the club, senior Robin Luo.

“We plan to host a poetry contest with cash and candy prizes for the three winners the club chooses,” Luo said. “Because this is the first year we’ve taken initiative for Poetry Month, we’ve kept it rather simple.”

This month, the club plans on hosting a poetry contest, making videos for the morning announcements and will also be participating in the poetry slam at the Edwardsville Public Library on April 26.

After attending many poetry contests and readings himself, Fuller is excited for the upcoming contest.

“You can really tell that the people there are passionate about it,” Fuller said, “because you feel it in both their writing and their performance.”