The South Dakota State Poetry Society's annual contest is a longstanding institutional fixture within the state's literary landscape, and the Portrait category carries a specific curatorial charge: poems that render people from South Dakota—whether the poet themselves, an acquaintance, or a character unmistakably rooted in the state. This is not a broad thematic call but a deliberate narrowing of focus, asking poets to work within the tradition of the portrait as a poetic form while anchoring it to a particular geography and its inhabitants. The category welcomes any length or style, which suggests the jury is attentive to execution and authenticity rather than formal allegiance. The contest operates on a membership model: only SDSPS members may enter, and the fee is $5.00 per entry, per category. Submissions must consist of up to three poems in a single .doc or .docx document, each poem beginning on a separate page. The title line of the submission form must read "Portrait Poems." Anonymity is required—no name anywhere on the poems themselves—and a brief third-person bio and physical mailing address must accompany the submission as a cover letter. The guidelines are explicit that submissions failing to follow instructions will not be considered, a standard that reflects the seriousness with which the society regards its administrative process. What the winner receives is not specified in the provided facts, and we do not speculate. What is clear is that the society provides a structured, juried occasion for poets to bring forward work that attends to human particularity within a shared place. The absence of a stated prize does not diminish the value of the context: a state poetry society with a history of supporting local writers, a defined readership, and a category that asks for portraiture rather than abstraction. For poets whose work engages with the people and textures of South Dakota, this is a venue that takes that subject matter seriously.