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Award-Winning Poems: Winter 2008-2009
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Welcome to our Winter 2008-2009 selection of award-winning poems. These quarterly specials are included with your free Winning Writers Newsletter subscription. We'll release our next regular newsletter on December 15.
Lost one of our newsletters? Formatting appears odd? Not to worry. All our recent newsletters are posted online at http://www.winningwriters.com/news
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Like What We Do? Please Nominate Us!
Writer's Digest is calling for nominations for its 2009 101 Best Websites for Writers. As you know, we were grateful to be named to this list for the past four years. Please consider sending an email to writersdig@fwpubs.com. Put "101 Best Websites" in the subject line and include a brief note about how Winning Writers helps you. Copy us on your nomination if you feel like it. We appreciate it!
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RECENT HONORS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS
Congratulations to Marie Delgado Travis. Her original poem "To a Lost Lover" was selected to appear in the Eighth Edition of Prentice Hall's Literature for Ninth Graders (textbook and supporting materials). She won Second Place in the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest in November 2005 and Honorable Mention in the Tom Howard Short Story Contest No. 13. Visit her web site at www.mariedelgadotravis.com.
Congratulations to Darrell Lindsey. Two of his poems were among the winners of the 2008 International Tanka Splendor Award from AHA Books, and are published on their website. The most recent deadline for this free contest was September 30. He also has a poem in Zygote Abstract Anthology 2008, and two poems forthcoming in Issue Number 22 of Acorn.
RECENT HONORS FOR POETRY CONTEST INSIDER SUBSCRIBERS
Congratulations to Ann Eustace. Her tanka sequence "The Dreamer" was one of the winners of the 2008 International Tanka Splendor Award. In addition, her poem "Taking Mom to the Refuge" won 3rd Prize of $25 in the 2008 Lucidity Poetry Journal Awards, which offer prizes up to $100 for "poetry that deals with people, relationships, life issues and events, written in clear and concise English". The most recent deadline for this contest was October 31.
RECENT PUBLICATION CREDITS FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS
Tony Peyser's poem "Developing Story: God Is Not Dead" was accepted for publication in Sycamore Review, the literary journal of Purdue University.
Lyn Lifshin's poetry collection Nutley Pond was recently released by Goose River Press.
Nicole Nicholson was a Poet of the Week at Poetry Super Highway for November 17-23. Her poem "Revolutionary" is featured on the site. In addition, her poem "Elegy" was published on the Young American Poets website.
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Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest
Postmark Deadline: March 31, 2009
Now in its 17th year. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. Submit any type of short story, essay or other work of prose, up to 5,000 words. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the online publication rights. $15 entry fee. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. Winning Writers is assisting with entry handling for this contest. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest - No Fee
Online Submission Deadline: April 1, 2009
Winning Writers invites you to enter the eighth annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, called "famous" by Writer's Digest. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $3,336.40 will be awarded, including a top prize of $1,359. There is no fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
War Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: May 31, 2009
We seek 1-3 original, unpublished poems on the theme of war for our eighth annual contest, up to 500 lines in total. We will award $5,000, including a top prize of $2,000. Submit online or by mail. The entry fee is $15. Judge: Jendi Reiter. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse
Postmark Deadline: June 30, 2009
Now in its sixth year, this contest seeks poetry in traditional verse forms such as sonnets and free verse. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad. See the complete guidelines and past winners.
TRY POETRY CONTEST INSIDER
If you enjoy using The Best Free Poetry Contests, consider upgrading to Poetry Contest Insider. The Best Free Poetry Contests profiles the 150 or so poetry contests that are free to enter. With your Poetry Contest Insider subscription, you'll get access to all of our 750+ poetry contest profiles, plus over 100 of the best prose contests. Search and sort contests by deadline, prize, fee, recommendation level and more. Access to Poetry Contest Insider is just $7.95 per quarter, with a free 10-day trial at the start. Cancel at any time.
Most contests charge entry fees. You can easily spend hundreds of dollars and many hours entering these contests each year. Don't waste your time or money. Out of hundreds of contests, there might only be two or three dozen that are especially appropriate for your work. We help you find them fast. Interviews and links to award-winning work help you refine your craft. Learn more about Poetry Contest Insider.
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WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
by Theresa Sotto
Winner of the 2008 George Bogin Memorial Award
Postmark Deadline: December 22
This high-profile award from the Poetry Society of America offers $500 for a selection of four or five poems that use language in an original way to reflect the encounter of the ordinary and the extraordinary and to take a stand against oppression in any of its forms. Sotto's list-poem names articles of clothing that range from exotic traditional coverings to familiar pop-culture styles. As these uninhabited garments enter and exit the stage, we are led to consider self-display as a form of self-concealment.
THE WOODPECKER PECKS, BUT THE HOLE DOES NOT APPEAR
by Charles Wright
International Winner of the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize
Postmark Deadline: December 31
The most lucrative contest for a published English-language poetry book awards two prizes of $50,000 each year, one for a book of original or translated poetry first published in Canada this year, the other for a book published anywhere in the world. In this selection from Wright's winning collection Scar Tissue, the poet takes a philosophic pleasure in imagining how soon the memory of our individual lives will be lost in the self-renewing vitality of nature.
THE SUPPER STAR
by Anne Shaw
Co-winner of the 2008 Literal Latte Food Verse Awards
Postmark Deadline: December 31
Literal Latte, a well-regarded online journal with an innovative, urban feel, offers $500 and web publication for poems about food. Shaw's magical poem imagines feasting on the light of a star, and how this meal fills a person with a yearning to travel back to a primordial oneness of all beings.
We are gathering a growing library of award-winning poems in Poetry Contest Insider, over 90 to date. Enjoy a wide range of today's best work. Sign up for a free trial.
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2003 WAR POETRY CONTEST—FINALIST
USO DANCE: COLORADO SPRINGS, 1944
by Samuel Exler
Our sliding feet whisper on the dance floor
Like a sentry's challenge in the night.
Dancing against the circle of the clock,
Dancing in the dark,
Time like the dark we cannot penetrate,
Time flowing to a port where we embark.
The wire is taut that sets the booby trap.
A general in his jeep rides past the troops.
Firmness of command is in his glance.
Let's face the music. And dance.
It's time to dance, a flexing at the knees,
A scent of powder, dancing cheek to cheek
And palm to palm, and step by step
The heart begins to freeze...
A woman's body's what your spirit asks for,
Your heart constricted to a nub of ice,
Your life constricted to the rolling dice;
Stage light reflected from the polished floor,
A muted trumpet flashes yellow light,
The drummer holds us to his 4/4 beat,
Keeping time, time, time—
Back from night attacks,
Back to the USO for coffee, snacks,
For borrowed girls, patinas of romance,
Melting into music, we dance.
Tonight the famous actress sings
A slow, insinuating tune;
Crowding the mike she croons
No matter what the future brings,
So close we feel her breath upon our cheek,
Close as a rifle stock against the cheek
Or scuff of footsteps on the nighttime wind.
We're dreaming of a safe and easy wound
As time flows overseas
Bearing A. B. Carr to the Hürtgen Forest where
An A.P. shell bursts downward from the trees.
Sing, sing, sing, sing,
The husky voice preserving us from harm,
Dancing into the storm
In suntan uniform
The Timberwolf Division's on its way.
We board the ship, a blazing summer's day
And ship out into the violent dark.
A sniper's got Bill Johnson in his sight.
Let's dance tonight.
Shipping out upon the wide, wide sea
Now is the time to pray.
Pray for friends who are gone forever,
The gun crew swept away in the river,
The boys who broke, pinned at the river's edge,
The boys who fell to raise a bridge;
And pray for boys who died in later wars,
Who died world-wide
Leaving the dance to ship out on the sea,
Crossing the waves to where the future lies,
Where life and death's pure chance,
In silent convoy under azure skies
Where dolphins leap the waves in dolphin dance.
Copyright 2003 Samuel Exler
This poem was a finalist in the 2003 War Poetry Contest sponsored by Winning Writers. See the judge's comments on the winning poems from this contest.
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SPONSORS' MESSAGES
The Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference
Next conferences: January 16-19, February 20-23
Special intensive retreat: February 6-9 (limited to 10 poets)
The Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference provides the faculty, connections, and method necessary to set poets with a completed manuscript or manuscript-in-process on a path towards publication. Includes workshops, consultations with press editors, evening poetry readings, editorial panel Q&A, group critique of selected poems, and an after-conference strategy session.
The cost of the conference is $1,295 and includes tuition, pre-conference materials, lodging and meals. The January and February conferences will be held at the elegant Brandt House in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Attendance is limited. For an application and complete guidelines, please visit www.colrainpoetry.com. You may also call 978-897-0054, email conferences@colrainpoetry.com or write to Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference, Concord Poetry Center, 40 Stow Street, Concord, MA 01742-2418.
Success Stories from Our Attendees
- Jamie Ross, whose book Bringing in the Name has won the 2008 Four Way Books Intro Prize, attended Colrain with the manuscript in November 2006.
"To say you (Joan) and Fred and the Colrain conference were formative in this whole deal would be an understatement! I met Martha there, too—though you never could have told me at the time that I'd even be sending the collection to Four Way."
- Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno, a June 2007 attendee, has won the Beatrice Hawley Prize from Alice James Books and her book Slamming Open the Door will be published in April 2009.
"There is no question in my mind that had I not attended the Colrain Manuscript Conference and received the kind of encouragement and judicious advice that I did there, I would not have won the Beatrice Hawley Award—would not have revised my manuscript the way I did, or even had the confidence to send it out."
- Kristin Bock, a first conference attendee (March 2006), will have her manuscript from the conference, Cloisters, published by Tupelo Press in 2008.
"I'm so grateful to the Colrain conference! What struck me most about the Colrain experience was the kindness and generosity of the attendees, the workshop leaders, and the editors. Everyone worked hard, taking the time to provide thoughtful and detailed feedback on each other's work. The editors gave individual attention to each and every poet, answering all of our burning questions about our manuscripts and the often cryptic world of publishing. A heartfelt thanks to all!!"
- Lauren Rusk, also a first conference attendee, signed a book contract with Plain View Press for publication of her manuscript from the conference, Pictures in the Firestorm.
"The most useful parts of the conference for me were doing the thought-provoking and instructive pre-conference assignments, hearing the editors speak on the panel about their motivations and daily realities, and receiving your insightful feedback on the parts of my manuscript we discussed in the workshop. Our time together remains vividly in my mind."
- Diana Adams, another first conference attendee, had her manuscript, Cave Vitae, accepted for publication by Plain View Press.
"At the conference I learned to think of a book of poems as a larger poem, and using Fred Marchant's and Jeffrey Levine's experienced advice was able to completely reconstruct my book, giving it a new life, synchonized and more coherent."
- Allegra Wong, second conference attendee (August 2006), has had her manuscript, A Pure Bead, solicited for publication by conference editor, Joan Houlihan (Del Sol Press). A Pure Bead was published in 2007.
"My consultation with Dennis Maloney, White Pine Press, was helpful in several specific ways. Poets Joan Houlihan, Teresa Cader, and Fred Marchant are dedicated and dynamic workshop leaders. The workshops showed us what an editor is seeking. I know so much more about the publishing world."
- Anne Shaw, first conference attendee (March 2006), has had her manuscript, Undertow, selected as winner of the 2007 Lexi Rudnitsky Poetry Prize, to be published by Persea Books in December 2007.
"I wanted to share my big news with both of you: I won the Persea Books contest! My ms Undertow is finally going to be published... I can't believe it. I am still in shock. I also want to thank both of you for the Colrain conference. I think it helped a lot in terms of making contacts, and getting me to think about the order of the book. When I went home I re-ordered and re-titled the ms, and I think that helped. The meeting with Martha Rhodes was very, very helpful too. At any rate, thank you both."
- Suellen Wedmore, third conference attendee (November 2006), has won the Grayson Books Chapbook Contest.
"I just wanted to thank you again for the support and advice you offered at the Colrain Poetry Manuscript workshop. One thing I learned/deduced while I was there was that my manuscript was perhaps really two chapbooks—so I began sending out chapbooks instead of a full manuscript. And just last night I learned that I won the Grayson Press Chapbook prize with a book built around my war poems. Chalk one up for Colrain! And thanks again!"
- Charles Boyer, another first conference attendee, had his manuscript The Mockingbird Puzzle accepted for publication by Finishing Line Press.
"I've had some good news. I had a chapbook accepted at Finishing Line Press, a Kentucky literary press. It should be coming out sometime in June. Thanks to all of you for your advice and encouragement with the poems!"
Click for more Colrain Publication News
 Lucidity Poetry Journal - Call for Submissions
Lucidity Poetry Journal, now in its 24th year of publication, is seeking poems dealing with all the facets of human experience such as life, love, loss, joy, sorrow, hope, disappointment—all those elements faced by people in human relationships and daily events. We want poems that are lucid and clear in diction and deal with everyday issues, avoiding vulgarities and jabberwocky. We also avoid political and religious verse, as well as purely nature poems: such as butterflies, sunsets, birds, etc. We are open to any format: formal or free verse but it is important to read our guidelines before submitting poetry. We do not consider email submissions.
If your work is accepted for publication, you will receive modest payment (from $1 to $15), plus a free copy of that issue. We do charge a small entry/reading fee to pay the publication and postage expenses of our journal. Please email us for submission details or visit our website: lucidityjournal.00books.com (the 00 are zeros). In addition to our twice-yearly journal, we also publish chapbooks for poets at a reasonable cost if you wish to have your poems in a book. Contact us for details and prices. Email: tedbadger1@yahoo.com.
Response has been good to a new concept in publishing that we have developed which we call a Mini-Chapbook, featuring a 12-page booklet containing 8 of your poems with an attractive cover showing title, your name and illustration. These booklets are great for mailing or giveaways, and are far cheaper than a greeting card. Send $1 for a sample of the Mini-Chapbook. It's an easy way to get your poems in print in a professional venue. Write to Lucidity Poetry Journal, Ted Badger-Editor, 10210 Forum West Drive, No. 415, Houston, TX 77036-8323, USA.
 Now On Sale
After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events
115 poets from 15 nations in the language of recovery from Grief, War, Exile, Divorce, Abuse, Bigotry, Illness, Injury, Alcoholism, Loss of Innocence.
"This anthology is of national and international significance. It is a collection that crosses and embraces all boundaries—culture, class, gender, and race. It takes us into the hardest places human beings have to go—the failures of personal relationships, loss of loved ones, genocide, racial oppression, addiction, loss of innocence, marginalization, and more. And, yet, each section moves, finally, toward a place of hope and dignity and resilience."
—Cathy Smith Bowers
Author, The Candle I Hold Up To See You
Read more praise for AFTER SHOCKS: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events
Pay securely online with PayPal, or mail your check or money order to:
Sante Lucia Books
1401 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 500
Atlanta, GA 30309
$19.95 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. GA residents please add $1.60 per book (8% sales tax). Buy three or more copies and shipping is free!
Last Call!
International Fish Short Story Prize—5,000 Euros in prizes plus publication
Entries must be received by December 14
The aim of the Fish Short Story Prize is to discover and encourage new writers. Since 1994 we have published over 250 authors, helping many to further writing success.
- First Prize - 3,000 Euros
- Second Prize - a week at the Anam Cara Writers' & Artists' Retreat in West Cork's Beara Peninsula, with 300 Euros travelling expenses
- Third Prize - 300 Euros
In addition to these prize-winners, all those who are published in the Anthology will receive an award of 100 Euros and five complementary copies of the Fish Anthology 2008.
Details
Entry fee: 20 Euros per story. Results announced: March 17, 2009. Anthology published: July 2009. Judge: Colum McCann. Max 5,000 words. There is no restriction on theme or style. Open to anyone writing in English. Most recent winner: Julia van Middlesworth, New York.
Enter online at www.fishpublishing.com
Honorary Patrons: Roddy Doyle, Frank McCourt, Dermot Healy.
Closing This Month
 Coal Hill Review Poetry Chapbook Competition
Postmark Deadline: December 31
Coal Hill Review and Autumn House Press are pleased to announce the Coal Hill Review Chapbook Competition: your chance to have your work featured as a special electronic chapbook in a standalone issue of Coal Hill Review.
Terrance Hayes will select the winner who will receive $250 and publication of his or her work as an online chapbook.
Please review our guidelines below, then visit our website for online submission.
Coal Hill Review is an online journal dedicated to publishing fine poetry by both emerging and established writers. We hope to gather a range of diverse voices and styles and to explore work outside the traditional limitations of popular trends and printing costs.
The Review takes its name from Coal Hill, otherwise known as Mount Washington, Pittsburgh, PA, the home of Autumn House Press. Where once people mined its rich coal seams, we now mine for poetry.
Sincerely,
The Editors
Coal Hill Review Chapbook Competition Guidelines
- This competition is open to all poets writing in English.
- There is a $15 reading fee paid through our PayPal account.
- Manuscripts should be 10 to 15 poems.
- Poems should not have been published previously.
- The winning chapbook will be published electronically as a special issue
of Coal Hill Review, and the poet will receive $250.
- All finalists will be considered for publication in Coal Hill Review.
- The final judge for the competition is Terrance Hayes.
- Please address any questions to jstorey (at) autumnhouse.org with the
words "CHAPBOOK COMPETITION QUERY" in the subject line.
- Manuscripts will not be reviewed until PayPal payment is
confirmed.
- Click for more details and online submission.
 Closing This Month
Dream Quest One Writing Competition
Postmark Deadline: December 31
This writing contest is open to anyone who loves to express their innermost thoughts and feelings in poetry or to write a short story that's worth telling everyone! We're accepting poems, 30 lines or fewer on any subject, and short stories, 5 pages maximum on any theme (single- or double-line spacing). Multiple entries welcome.
Prizes
Short Story First Prize: $500, 2nd: $250, 3rd: $100
Poetry First Prize: $250, 2nd: $125, 3rd: $50
Entry fees
$10 per story
$5 per poem
How to Enter
Send your work with a cover page that lists the title(s) of your poem(s)/story(ies), name, address, phone number, and email address, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for entry confirmation. Make your entry fee payable to "DREAMQUESTONE.COM" and mail to Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest, P.O. Box 3141, Chicago, IL 60654. Visit www.dreamquestone.com for details and to enter.
Please enjoy "Get Lost" by Jesus "JB" Martinez, first-prize winner for poetry in our Summer 2007 contest:
( "Get Lost" )
by Jesus "JB" Martinez
You don't need to tell me that you don't love me anymore as it's reading all over your
face,
You don’t need to explain yourself, there's the road, get lost You don't need to
look back as there is nothing here for you to see, as I hang my head to cry my
loudest cry, down by the waterfront as her sweet kisses did.
Not less long only her savage lies to be whipped like a dog; I was better off playing
it safe reading Mad Magazines never to unfold love is only for fools thinking it
will; Less and later she got fat and me and myself and I we just did not care as the
years came flying like there's no tomorrow as I made it big to create my Own (
You Idiot Magazine) to enslave the world just like Harry Potter fans too spend
their money to no end;
To attack within, going to sea just like a good monster as my aircraft just landed
across the good (USA) just like a hungry beast and never mind about (Global);
Hell, I was a good kid until she got her claws in me as only the (President) can lie
to you never to get fired just like Paris Hilton and now they ask if she got special
treatment. Do I have to spell it out for you? I am not a real doctor but I play one in
TV as everything is staged; We pay them to make me look good just like in
commercials as women to enjoy cleaning after those pigs with a great smile just to
talk about soap; Everything shining white that was in the day of the caveman and
now they feed us lies as we are close to dead just like always.
So get lost girl. La End...
Closing This Month
The Litchfield Review Writing Contest
Postmark Deadline: December 31
We seek poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction for our semi-annual magazine competition. Prose entries should be 3,000 words or less. Poetry entries may be of any length.
To be considered for both publication and a cash prize, please enclose $10 with each essay, short story, or set of 1-3 poems. Enclose $15 and you may submit an unlimited number of entries. Mail your manuscripts to:
The Litchfield Review
7 Bonna Street
Beacon Falls, CT 06403
Exceptional entries of poetry, memoir and short fiction will be considered for publication as books by The Litchfield Review Press. For more information and news about our ongoing writing contests, please check our redesigned website, litchfieldreview.com, or email Theresa C. Vara at tvdannen@sbcglobal.net.
Please enjoy "Names of My Mother's Friends" by Judy Kronenfeld. Her most recent book, Light Lowering in Diminished Sevenths, is winner of the 2007 Litchfield Review Book Contest for Poetry and was published by The Litchfield Review Press. It can be purchased at litchfieldreview.com. Judy Kronenfeld’s poems have appeared in The Women’s Review of Books, Poetry International, Natural Bridge, Cimarron Review, Spoon River Poetry Review and Hiram Poetry Review, among many others.
Names of My Mother's Friends
by Judy Kronenfeld
They touched knees on stoops, girlishly
coquettish, hung laundry together
on wind-scoured roofs, smiled at me
fit to burst, her naches theirs, yahooed hello
as I dragged home from school, pinched
my cheeks red because they loved her,
removed slipcovers at the end
of summer, lovingly preserved grandmothers'
antimacassars, leaned on the sills
of evening.
They rumbled their shopping carts
over cracked sidewalks, met in the
vegetable store by the dank potatoes,
cluck-clucked over this one's
sunken-cheeked husband, that one's
sneaky son, while the chickens
they chose were plucked;
grew
widowed, cancerous, forgot which was
the meat fork, which the dairy,
lost teeth and didn't care, moved
out of and into a home,
and their
names have been sent down to the dark,
withdrawn from circulation, with hers
they have gone out like lights,
but they are still fragrant
as lace handkerchiefs taken
from a sachet-scented drawer—
Oh Stella, Dora, Ida, Gertie, Pearl, oh Rose.
 Closing Next Month
Longleaf Press 2008 Poetry Chapbook Contest
Postmark Deadline: January 31, 2009
Longleaf Press offers a prize of $100 plus 50 chapbooks. Open to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Florida residents who haven't published a full-length collection. Submit 18-23 pages, $15 entry fee, self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and cover sheet with name, phone, email, and address. No identifying info on manuscript. Mail to: Longleaf Press, Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311. Questions? Please email Editor Robin Greene at rgreene@methodist.edu.
Please enjoy this selection from Patriate by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin, winner of the 2007 Poetry Chapbook Contest:
"Attentiveness deepens what it regards."
—Jane Hirshfield, in Nine Gates
Until you make one thousand
of a form, the potter warned,
you will not truly understand it.
He strode from student
to student smashing down
imperfect cylinders they'd pleaded
upward out of mud.
Think of this in yoga class, aching up
into the seven-hundredth downward
facing dog, still comprehending only clumsiness.
Think of this in the marriage bed
with your new husband. Pray you both live
long enough to make the one thousandth reprise.
Think of the ash tree, bringing forth
new thousands of leaves in perfection
each spring: tossing them lightly
away in fall.
Think of writing one thousand
sonnets, one thousand sestinas, one
thousand ghazals.
Think of relinquishing
hope of understanding
anything.
Closing Next Month
10th Annual Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest (no fee)
Postmark Deadline: January 31, 2009
Oregon Quarterly invites entries to the 10th Annual 2009 Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest in both student and open categories. Entries should address ideas that affect the Northwest. The Oregon Quarterly staff will select finalists and the contest judge will choose the top three winners in each category. Past judges have been Kim Stafford, Barry Lopez, John Daniel, Karen Karbo, Brian Doyle, Lauren Kessler and Craig Lesley.
- Prizes in the Open Category: $750, $300, $100
- Prizes in the Student Category: $500, $200, $75
- No entry fee required
- First-place essays will appear in Oregon Quarterly
- A selection of top essays will be featured in a springtime public reading on the UO campus
- Fifteen finalists (ten in the open category and five students) will be announced in the Summer 2009 issue of Oregon Quarterly
- All finalists will be invited to participate in a writing workshop with the contest judge on the day of the reading
Entries should be nonfiction, should not have been previously published, and should be no more than 1,500 words in the student category and 2,000 words in the open category. The student contest is open to any student currently enrolled and pursuing a graduate or undergraduate degree at a college or university. One entry per person. Find the submission address and complete guidelines at www.oregonquarterly.com (click on Essay Contest).
 Now Open
Announcing the Fifth Annual Skysaje Enterprises Poetry Contest
Postmark Deadline: April 30, 2009
This year we’re offering a $250 first prize and three $25 honorable mentions. The judges are:
- Award-winning poet Ellaraine Lockie
- M.J. Iuppa, legendary Rochester, NY based poet and professor at St. John Fisher College
- Rick Petrie, co-host of the long running Pure Kona Poetry series
Guidelines for entry into the 2009 contest:
- All entries must be typed in the 14-point font size
- Submit up to five (5) poems per entry
- Title of poem and author contact info must appear on each page submitted
- A $15.00 non-refundable entry fee must accompany all submissions
Make check or money orders payable to L. Berger and mail to:
Skysaje Enterprises
50 Amesbury Road
Rochester, NY 14623
Please enjoy "Narrowing the Line", which received an honorable mention in our 2008 contest:
Narrowing the Line
by Kate Eisenberg
1930 and hunger ruled.
It was wrong I know,
but it was there and our children were starving.
We were walking
The back roads of rural Mississippi
carrying everything we owned,
looking to work the fields.
Thin but strong
All of us.
My husband took off his hat,
went to the back door and asked about work.
Mean as a caged tiger,
A woman came at him broom swinging.
We all hightailed it back to the road.
As we gathered our wits a large cock strutted our way.
I looked up to God and asked his forgiveness.
With that I grabbed it and I wrung its neck.
Safe on another stretch of highway we built a fire.
Best darn chicken I ever did eat.
Every one of us scraped the bones.
Poverty has a way of narrowing the line between predator and prey.
Copyright 2008 Kate Eisenberg. Reprinted by permission.
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2009 Poet's Market
The 2009 edition of Poet's
Market is on sale for $18.47 at Amazon. Published each August by Writer's Digest, this is the best annual guide to 1,600 journals, magazines, book publishers, chapbook publishers, websites, grants, conferences, workshops and contests. Helps you find publishers who are looking for your kind of work. Also updated are Novel & Short
Story Writer's Market and Writer's Market for works of prose. Writer's Market is "the most valuable of tools for the writer new to the marketplace," says
Stephen King in On Writing.
Alibris Coupon
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"We can tell by our data readings that Winning Writers is an economical and efficient way to advertise both the Anderbo Poetry Prize and The RRofihe Trophy/Open City Short Story Contest."
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"I'm very pleased with the variety of responses we've received, and I very much appreciate the
care you took in adding links and generally improving the copy I sent you."
Mark Schorr, Executive Director, The Robert Frost Foundation
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Adult low literacy is connected to every socioeconomic problem this country faces today
FACT: More than half of the inmates in our state and federal prisons are illiterate. Inmates who receive basic
literacy instruction during or after incarceration are less likely to return to prison. The average cost of
housing a prison inmate is $25,000 a year. It costs $500-$800 for one year of adult literacy instruction.
FACT: One-half of the two million immigrants entering the U.S. each year are not literate in their own
language. This makes it more difficult for them to gain the English-speaking skills they need to find jobs,
advance to better jobs, and maintain safety on the job. Programs that provide these individuals with
English-as-a-second-language instruction need support if they are to keep pace with the demand for
their services.
FACT: Annual Medicare costs for adults with low literacy skills are more than four times greater than costs
for others; medication errors, long hospital stays, and overuse of emergency rooms attributed to low
literacy cost as much as $238 billion a year—enough to fund health insurance for every uninsured
individual in the U.S.
FACT: Basic literacy, GED preparation, and English-as-a-second-language services are provided by community-based organizations (CBOs) and adult basic education (ABE) programs. More than 90 percent of
these programs have waiting lists for classroom space or tutors. People who seek out literacy services
understand that they can change their lives and their families' lives by improving their reading, writing,
math, and computer skills. They took that first important step by contacting a program—only to be
told that it will be months before they can begin.
FACT: Current federal appropriations to adult literacy and basic education programs, combined with state matching dollars and philanthropic donations, make it possible for only 3 million adults to receive instruction.
Click for the solutions in ProLiteracy's "First 100-Day Plan for Adult Literacy in the U.S." (PDF)
 ProLiteracy supports adults and young people in the U.S. and internationally who are learning to read, write, and do basic math by training instructors, publishing instructional materials, and advocating for resources and public policies that support them.
Support ProLiteracy's vital mission. Click
here to learn more. Click to contribute.
Send this page to a friend and we'll donate 15 cents to ProLiteracy for each friend you refer.
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2006 WERGLE FLOMP HUMOR POETRY CONTEST—SECOND PRIZE
MASCULINE MESSAGE FROM DAMION MCGRAW
by Jim Neill
Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself
Farm girls know how to party.
If anxiety is becoming too much for you to handle...
Adventure awaits! Geisha Bingo!
Impress your woman with your animal instincts!
Confirmation: Petco Card
The miracle tool for your johnson
Eggstractor—The Hardboiled Egg Peeler
Lose the wrinkles
Never lose your keys
Midget sex
Make Your Little Guy Big
Tired of being LONELY?
Welcome to the World of Jill!
What would you do with your own GPS?
Are you ready to wear a bikini?
Someone is interested in you.
Anna Nicole's Boyfriend.
Want to know more about your family history?
Are you a man or mouse?
Hot discount reality!
Our little secret.
They won't know it's a replica.
Is the low carb thing for real?
WOOF—Free Dog Treats
New Rumor On Wall Street
Olsen Twins use online Pharmacy
Deal with your libido now!
No Shaving
No Waxing
No Pain
Spring Break girls
Run amuck on the farm!
Wild country gals
Take Spring Break!
Does your girl like surprises?
You lack credentials for that position
An Email From God!
ha ha ha your penis is so small
Oprah's Secret Diet?
She cant possibly be enjoying this!
Can you really put a price tag on your family
Sell it on ebay!
Your Managers Don't Have Expertise They Have This
Sex with animals
Skanky MILF Spreads
Taste just like butter!
The truth about Olestra
Gushing, Exploding, Squirting and Dripping: All in One
Personalized Letters from Santa
Prince got one
Stop punching a clock
Make your tame python work
You won't believe what you can get for a buck
Mail-order brides
New vegetarian Hot Pockets!
Just 15 minutes and it will be hard as ROCK!
What's in your louis vuitton handbag?
Trojans are everywhere
If you die tonight, what happens to your family tomorrow?
Disneyland! great vacation packages
if god gave you one wish, what do you want most?
An iPod is waiting for you...
We have sexy lingerie for YOU!
Your Dog Will Love It!
We have located several horny women in your area!
Have you gone to church lately?
Give Her More Meat
Frozen steaks by mail
Take Control of Your Hair Loss
Official Red Sox caps
Have The Body You've Always Wanted
Pick your color, get it free.
What happens when you invite her in?
THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSION OF DATE
Schwarzenegger, just 5 minutes
Rambo, just 10 minutes
Some say it hurts, some like it
She's got a suprise in her pants ;)
Robomaid amazing new robotic duster
We need you to test new products!
Your lover will jump for joy when you do this!
Why they all want you!
Schwarze Jungs haben's drauf
ASSET TRANSFER NOTICE
Cellulite please be gone
Large thighs please go away
New Breed of Stock Trader
asian angels + black monsters
Massive bombing raid
Don't miss Neil Diamond
Copyright 2006 Jim Neill
Sent as a joke to Poetry.com, this poem won second prize in the Wergle Flomp humor poetry contest sponsored by Winning Writers. See the judge's comments on winning poems from this contest.
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COMING IN OUR DECEMBER 15 NEWSLETTER
2009 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest Opens
Best Free Poetry Contests for December 16-January 31
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