Hannah Arendt Center presents:
The Bill Mullen Recitation Prize
Apply by April 23rd; Contest on May 1st
Friday, May 1, 2026
Bard Hall
1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
This event occurs on:
Fri. May 1, 1 pm – 3:30 pm
It's time for the annual poetry recitation prize contest. Any current Bard student is eligible to enter. First Place, $500; Second Place, $100! Enter by April 23, 2026.
The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest encourages the love of literature, the joy in oral recitation, the committing to memory of great poetry, the love of public speaking, and the agonal spirit, all of which are at the heart of how we remember Bill Mullen’s intellectual legacy. The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest aims to expose students to, and perhaps instill a love for, the art of memorizing and reciting poetry.
Rules of Competition:
- Participants must be undergraduates at Bard College.
- Poem must be recited in English (translations into English are welcome).
- The poem’s author must be deceased.
- Full texts only, no excerpts.
- Recitation length: no longer than 3 minutes (time yourself in a practice run).
- If the number of applicants exceeds the slots available, applicants will be selected on a “first come” basis.
- Entry deadline: April 23, 2026.
Prizes:
$500 1st place
$100 2nd place
Refreshments will be served.
Who was Bill Mullen?
William "Bill" Mullen (1956-2017) came to Bard College in 1985 and was a key figure in establishing the College's Classics program. He taught at Bard until his death. In 2021 the College announced that a bequest from Professor Mullen's estate had established the William C. Mullen Memorial Fund, which sustains his legacy through grants to former students to continue their studies, and through the support of the Poetry Recitation Prize.
Who are the Judges?
Michael Ives is a Poet in Residence at Bard and is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and the Lillian Fairchild Award for Significant Contributions to the Arts. A founding member and composer for the sound/text performance trio F'loom, he has taught music performance and composition and creative writing at Aesthetic Education Institute of Lincoln Center (1997–2001) and was artist in residence at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2000–01). He is the author of The External Combustion Engine (2005) as well as poetry and short fiction published in numerous periodicals.
Ann Lauterbach is a poet and essayist. Her eleventh poetry collection, Door, was published by Penguin Random House in March (2023). Her 2009 volume Or to Begin Again was nominated for a National Book Award. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1986) and a MacArthur Fellowship (1993), she was cochair of writing in Bard’s MFA Program from 1992 to 2020 and is Ruth and David Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature.
It's time for the annual poetry recitation prize contest. Any current Bard student is eligible to enter. First Place, $500; Second Place, $100! Enter by April 23, 2026.
The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest encourages the love of literature, the joy in oral recitation, the committing to memory of great poetry, the love of public speaking, and the agonal spirit, all of which are at the heart of how we remember Bill Mullen’s intellectual legacy. The Bill Mullen Recitation Contest aims to expose students to, and perhaps instill a love for, the art of memorizing and reciting poetry.
Rules of Competition:
- Participants must be undergraduates at Bard College.
- Poem must be recited in English (translations into English are welcome).
- The poem’s author must be deceased.
- Full texts only, no excerpts.
- Recitation length: no longer than 3 minutes (time yourself in a practice run).
- If the number of applicants exceeds the slots available, applicants will be selected on a “first come” basis.
- Entry deadline: April 23, 2026.
Prizes:
$500 1st place
$100 2nd place
Refreshments will be served.
Who was Bill Mullen?
William "Bill" Mullen (1956-2017) came to Bard College in 1985 and was a key figure in establishing the College's Classics program. He taught at Bard until his death. In 2021 the College announced that a bequest from Professor Mullen's estate had established the William C. Mullen Memorial Fund, which sustains his legacy through grants to former students to continue their studies, and through the support of the Poetry Recitation Prize.
Who are the Judges?
Michael Ives is a Poet in Residence at Bard and is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Prize and the Lillian Fairchild Award for Significant Contributions to the Arts. A founding member and composer for the sound/text performance trio F'loom, he has taught music performance and composition and creative writing at Aesthetic Education Institute of Lincoln Center (1997–2001) and was artist in residence at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2000–01). He is the author of The External Combustion Engine (2005) as well as poetry and short fiction published in numerous periodicals.
Ann Lauterbach is a poet and essayist. Her eleventh poetry collection, Door, was published by Penguin Random House in March (2023). Her 2009 volume Or to Begin Again was nominated for a National Book Award. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1986) and a MacArthur Fellowship (1993), she was cochair of writing in Bard’s MFA Program from 1992 to 2020 and is Ruth and David Schwab Professor of Languages and Literature.