Friday, January 28, 2011

2011 Poetry Contest: Winners Announced!

Split This Rock is thrilled to announce the winners of our fourth annual poetry contest, judged by 2010 featured poet Jan Beatty.




Winners

  • First Prize: "Photograph-Gaylani, Baghdad," by Constance Norgren, Brooklyn, New York. Constance receives $500, free festival registration, and an invitation to read the winning poem at Split This Rock Poetry Festival in March 2012.
  • Second Prize: "Daughter," by Catherine Calabro, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Catherine receives $250 and free registration at the 2012 festival.
  • Third Prize: "The Strap-On Speaks," by Kendra DeColo, Nashville, Tennessee. Kendra receives $250 and free registration at the 2012 festival.

Read the winning poems here.


Honorable Mention
  • "In a Jerusalem Market" by Naomi Benaron, Tucson, Arizona
  • "Msenge" by Casey Charles, Missoula, Montana
  • "The Rising" by Raina J. León, Germany
We are grateful to Jan Beatty, our volunteers and interns, and all the poets for their submissions - we hope you will consider sharing your work with us in future years. Submission fees help support the mission of Split This Rock, integrating the poetry of provocation and witness into public life and supporting the poets who do this vital work.

Judge's Statement

"It was an honor to judge the poems for the 2011 Split This Rock Contest. What comes through in all the entries is a sense of integrity of voice, coupled with a feeling that something necessary and urgent is at stake. This urgency expresses itself in the risks taken with content, as writers enter the borderlands around body and country, crossing the boundaries into spirit. In the act of addressing the difficult and the unsayable, these poems bring hope."
-Jan Beatty

And a reminder to check out all of Split This Rock's activities during AWP next week. Details are here. We look forward to seeing you!

With gratitude for all who continue to speak out for justice,

Split This Rock

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