This article looks closely at one instantiation of a poetry-centered practice as supported by June Jordan's Poetry for the People, specifically in the context of an inaugural poetry contest. It builds on an earlier empirical study, which investigated the partnership between Poetry for the People and one East Bay Area high school and the rich learning environment that this partnership provided. Within that environment students participated in a particular writing process that included generative themes such as racial profiling and self-affirmation. The focus of this article is Poetry for the People's presence in other school settings and the involvement of students through a contest inspired practice. Using participatory ethnographic methods, various types of data including audio-taped teacher and student interviews, video-taped student performances, participant observations, photographs of students in different settings, and student poetry artifacts were collected. Poetry for the People was instrumental in the proliferation of poetry in schools. Through the June Jordan Poetry Prize Contest with the continued support of the Poetry for the People program, students were provided a unique opportunity to read, interpret, discuss, write, and workshop poems that paid attention to the power of words in creating a more democratic society. The contest inspired not only students to submit entries, but also challenged teachers to innovate the teaching of poetry and, as argued throughout this article, to link school and community resources. (Contains 4 figures.)