And after that queen of run-on sentences, I”m still going to try – because it truly was that kind of amazing experience. I”ve been in and around the local poetry scene (with some forays into the national) for about a dozen years. I”m not a mainstay – I”m a bystander and a specator who occasionally enters the fray and steps up on stage myself. In that time, I have been moved by many poets. I”ve been awed, I”ve been entertained, I”ve been amused, I”ve been struck by thought, imagination, wonderment, amazement, introspection and pure, unadulterated enjoyment. I”ve never been actually moved to tears – until Sunday night when Erin Jackson performed her first poem in the four-round iWPS qualifying slam at the Java Hut in Worcester. Erin, a member of the 2006 Worcester Poetry Slam Team – Team Awkward – did a four minute piece about growing up with her brother, and no words I could put out there could possibly do it justice.

Her poem was only one standout in a night of amazing poetry by the eight local poets who”d earned a spot in this qualifying slam by winning an earlier slam. The iWPS qualifying slam chooses the Worcester represntative to the Individual World Poetry Slam to be held in Vancouver January 31-February 4, 2006. The eight competitors qualified by winning slams throughout the autumn season at the Java Hut. They included Erin and fellow team members Bobby Gibbs, Eric Urban and Gary Hoare, co-host of the Worcester Poetry Asylum Jon Wolfe, Java Hut favorite Nick Davis, Providence Poetry Slam Team member Trevor Byrne-Smith and the host of Worcester”s Youth Poetry Slam, Alex Charalambides.

The poetry was amazing – and the bout was a classic cliffhanger that was decided by the last poem of the last round of the night. Erin Jackson, the only poet who has ever made me cry – and the only woman to make the qualifier – will be representing the Worcester Poets Asylum at the Individual World Poetry Slam in Vancouver. Congratulations, Erin – and thank you!

Technorati Tags: poetry, poetry slam, iWPS, individual world poetry slam, Erin Jackson, Poets Asylum, Java Hut, Worcester poetry

The Sixth Annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize
BOA Editions will be accepting manuscripts for the sixth annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize between August 1, 2006 and November 30, 2006. An entry form and fee are required. The A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize is awarded to honor a poet”s first book, while also honoring the late founder of BOA Editions, Ltd., a not-for-profit publishing house of poetry and poetry in translation.

BRIGHT HILL PRESS – 12TH ANNUAL POETRY BOOK COMPETITION – 2006
Book length (48-65 pages) collection of poetry. Deadline Nov. 30, 2006. Winner receives publication, $1000.00 and 25 copies of his/her professionally printed book; review copies will be sent to more than 50 reviewers. BHP will advertise the book in national publications and market it by retail and through distributors. Reading fee $22

The Fence Books 2007 Motherwell Prize
For a first or second full-length collection of poetry by a woman writing in English. Cash prize of $1,000 and publication in Fall 2007. 48-80 pages, $25 reading fee. Deadline Dec. 31, 2006

11th Annual Five Points James Dickey Prize for Poetry
Presented annually for a group of poems. Submit up to three poems with $20 reading fee (includes one year subscription to Five Points). Prize is $1,000 and publication in Vol 11, No 3 issue of Five Points. Deadline November 30, 2006

Beatrice Hawley Award
Alice James Books will be accepting submissions of poetry manuscripts for the Beatrice Hawley Award postmarked through December 1st, 2006. The Beatrice Hawley Award welcomes submissions from emerging as well as established poets. Entrants must reside in the United States. The winner receives $2000, book publication and has no cooperative membership commitment. In addition to the winning manuscript, one or more additional manuscripts may be chosen for publication.

Thomas Merton Poetry of the Sacred Award
Poetry that expresses, directly or indirectly, a sense of the holy or that, by its mode of expression, evokes
the sacred. The tone may be religious, prophetic, or contemplative. Deadline for submissions: December 31, 2006 First Prize, $500; Three Honorable Mention Prizes, $50 each. No reading fee. One poem, less than 100 lines.

The 2007 New Issues Poetry Prize
Poets writing in English who have not previously published, or self-published a full-length collection (48+ pages) of poems in an edition of 500 or more copies. $15 reading fee. Prize: $2,000 and publication. Manuscripts other than winner may be considered for publication. Deadline: Nov 30, 2006

Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowships
Two separate chapbook contests, one open to NYC residents under 30 years old who have not published a full length poetry collection, one to any US resident who has not published a full length poetry collection. Prize for each: $1000, publication and distribution through PSA, option to teach class at Purchase College (additional $1000). Deadline Dec 23, 2006.

The judging method is – reader voting. That”s right. Poems are rated and commented upon by readers, and the highest ranking poem at the end of the voting period is the winner. It”s all true to the spirit of slam poetry, which depends on ratings by members of the audience to choose the winner. The deadline for the current contest is Dec 31, 2006, with the winner announced January 2, 2007. The prize – $25.00 paid via paypal, a one month site subscription, a really cool GotPoetry sticker, and 50 karma points.

And you don”t have to enter – or be a member – to vote on the entries. Drop by, read a bit, rate a poem, enjoy. It”s all in good fun and the spirit of promoting poetry.

From the bio notes on the winning poets:

Steve Norwood (two kinds) is involved in open mics, slams and chapbooks. He writes the Controlled Burning blog. This is his second appearance as a Poetry Superhighway contest winner. Steve took second place in the 2000 contest.

PB Rippey (North Hollywood, California) has had work appear in ZYZZYVA, Runes, Pool, Solo 7, Mary, Slope, California Quarterly, Phoebe, Spork Press, Crab Creek Review, Poetry NZ, Chattahoochee Review, Santa Barbara Independent and other journals. She was a Top 25 finalist in the Glimmer Train Poetry Open and a finalist in a few 2005 and 2006 Glimmer Train fiction contests. Her short story Backup placed third in the 2005 WestSide Story contest, she received an Honorable Mention from Redgreene Press for a poetry chapbook and she was a finalist in the 2006 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers” Awards (so often a bridesmaid). Currently completing a full length collection of poetry and a novel, she lives in North Hollywood, runs a doctoral creative writing program at a Los Angeles university and escapes to Venice Beach for weekly poetry workshops conducted by the Hoir Poets. Her first poetry chapbook, Nightmares With Moons was published two seconds ago by Pudding House, the most wonderful independent chapbook publisher on the planet. Her poem “Bright Spot Through Wires” took second place in this year”s poetry contest. Read more P.B. Rippey here

Katherine L. Gordon (Rockwood, Ontario, Canada) is the author of “An Impact of Butterflies,” “Saving Camelot,” 2 full collections, and many chap-books. Her most recent is “A Conjunction of Hearts, A Renga” with Joan McGuire. This Renga is being studied in Israel, where a group of Israeli poets hope to produce one of their own. She has edited 7 anthologies and published articles and essays on the value and unifying force of poetry. Katherine”s work is published in India, Cuba, the U.K. and North America. She is an editor, author, publisher, judge and reviewer, working for many poetry organizations to promote poetry as a vital part of culture and an antidote to an impersonal world. She writes from a secluded river valley where she b ends in well with the birds and beasties. She won third place in this year”s contest with her poem “Smog Retribution”.

Each of the winning poets will be a featured poet of the week at Poetry Superhighway in the upcoming weeks. They”re good. Read them.

Winners and What They Won

First Place:
Steve Norwood
$405.00

Second Place
PB Rippey
$243.00

Third Place
Katherine L. Gordon
$162.00

We received 560 entries into the contest. The $550 (one dollar per poem entry fee), along with an additional $250 donation from Vasin, Heyn & Company, was divided amongst the top three scoring poets. First place won 50%, Second place took 30%, and Third Place won 20%.

Every single poet who entered the contest will receive at least one prize just for entering thanks to the generosity of the many sponsors who supported this years contest.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

read the winning poems

Guidelines:
(1) Write a poem, thirty lines or fewer on any subject or style or form, single or double line spacing.
Or
(2) Write a short story five pages maximum, single or double line spacing, on any subject or theme, creative writing, fiction and non-fiction (including essay compositions, diary, journal entries and screenwriting). Multiple entries are accepted.

Deadline: January 15, 2007.
Winners will be announced on February 15, 2007.

Prizes:
Writing Contest First Prize is $500. Second Prize is $250. Third Prize $100.

Poetry Contest First Prize is $250. Second Prize is $125. Third Prize is $50.

Entry fees:
Writing Contest entry fee is: $10 per short story.

Poetry Contest entry fee is: $5 per poem.

To send entries by mail: Include title of story or poem, your name, address, phone#, email, brief biographical info. (Tell us a little about yourself) on the coversheet, add a self-addressed stamped envelope for entry confirmation. Mail entries/fees payable to: Dreamquestone.com.

Dream Quest One
Poetry & Writing Contest
P.O. Box 3141
Chicago, IL 60654

Visit www.dreamquestone.com for further details, to print out an entry form or to enter online.

Technorati Tags: poetry contest, dreamquest one

Ledge Press
Poetry Chapbook Competition
A prize of $1,000, publication by Ledge Press, and 50 author copies is given annually for a chapbook-length poetry collection. Entrants receive a copy of the winning chapbook. Submit a manuscript of 16 to 28 pages with a $15 entry fee by October 31. Send an SASE or e-mail for complete guidelines.
Ledge Press, Poetry Chapbook Competition, 40 Maple Avenue, Bellport, NY 11713. Timothy Monaghan, Publisher.
tkmonaghan@aol.com

Elixir Press is sponsoring a poetry book competition with an October 31 deadline. The contest is open to all poets writing in English. There will be a Judge”s Prize of $2,000 and an Editor”s Prize of $1,000. Both winning manuscripts will be published by Elixir Press. All entries will be considered for publication. An outside judge, to be announced later, will make the final decision for the first prize. The editor will make the final decision for the second prize. Full guidelines available at Elixir Press guidelines page.

Dogwood Poetry Journal sponsors the annual Dogwood Poetry Prize. First prize of $1000 is given for a single poem. Submit up to three poems with a $10 reading fee to:
Kim Bridgford, Editor
Dogwood
English Dept.
Fairfield University
North Benson Rd.
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195

Deadline October 15. Full guidelines available at Dogwood.

National Federation of State Poetry Societies
Stevens Manuscript Competition
A prize of $1,000, publication by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, and 50 author copies is given annually for a poetry manuscript. Submit 35 to 60 pages of poetry and a $20 entry fee ($15 for NFSPS members) by October 15. Send an SASE, e-mail, or visit the Web site for complete guidelines.
National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Stevens Manuscript Competition, 22614 North Santiam Highway, Lyons, OR 97358. Eleanor Berry, Chair.

The Providence Athenaeum, one of the nation”s oldest cultural societies, awards the Philbrick Poetry Prize annually to a New England poet who has not had a poetry book published. Manuscripts for the chapbook award should be between 15 and 25 pages. First prize is $500 and publication of the chapbook. Deadline for entry is October 15. Full submission guidelines on the Athenaeum web site.

Third Coast, the literary magazine published twice a year by Western Michigan University English Department, sponsors the annual Third Coast Poetry Competition. Submit up to eight poems for consideration with $15 entry fee. First prize is $1000 plus publication of the prize winning poem. Read the Full guidelines .

The American Poetry Review sponsors the annual Honickman First Book Prize in Poetry. The annual American Poetry Review /Honickman First Book Prize offers publication of a book of poems, a $3,000 award, and distribution by Copper Canyon Press through Consortium.

Each year a distinguished poet is chosen to be the judge of the prize and write an introduction to the winning book. The purpose of the prize is to encourage excellence in poetry, and to provide a wide readership for a deserving first book of poems. Deadline for submissions is October 31. The manuscript should be 48 pages or more. There is a $25 entry fee. This year”s judge is Brenda Hillman. See the full submisisons guidelines.

The Ohio University Press sponsors the annual Hollis Summers Poetry Prize for a previously unpublished book of poetry from either published or unpublished poets. Manuscripts of 60-95 pages must be submitted by October 31. The winning manuscript will be published by Ohio University Press and $1000 cash prize is awarded to the author. See full guidelines for further details.

Red Hen Press sponsors the annual Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award for a book length collection of poetry. Book length is 48 to 96 pages. There is a $20 entry fee. First prize is $3000 and publication of the book. See full guidelines for details.

Technorati Tags: poetry prizes, poetry contests, literary awards, poetry awards, poetry competitions

Women Poets at Barnard invites applications for the 2007 Barnard Women Poet”s Prize for an exceptional second collection of poems. The winner will receive an honorarium of $1,500 and publication of her manuscript by W.W. Norton & Co.

The prize is given for a book of poems by a woman who has already published one book of poetry (in an edition of 500 copies or more) and is seeking a publisher for her second collection.

A qualified applicant should submit two copies of her book-length manuscript with a cover letter naming the title and publisher of her first collection. Although a writer may submit a manuscript that has been submitted to other contests, any manuscript under option to another publisher is not eligible. (Please note that any entries that are encumbered will be disqualified.) Page-limit is not specified. Because the prize is given to a poet who has already published a first book the manuscripts are not read anonymously. Every qualified manuscript will be read with scrupulous care by the panel of judges and the chief judge, who changes every year.

The entry fee is $20, payable in check to Women Poets at Barnard. The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2006. Winners will be contacted directly in the spring of 2007. If you wish to be notified of the contest results, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Please send manuscripts and fees to Women Poets at Barnard, Barnard College, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027. Email questions to Saskia Hamilton at shamilton(at)barnard(dot)edu.

The
Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship is awarded annually under the conditions of the will of Amy Lowell, who died in 1925. The conditions of the will established a trust that is used to support a gifted American poet traveling abroad for the year. The award this year is expected to be in the neighborhood of $47,000. For more informations and instructions for applying, see the full instructions page. The completed application must be received by the trust by October 15.

Since 1999, Poets Out Loud has sponsored an annual competition for a full-length poetry manuscript, published each spring by Fordham University Press. The POL Prize awards $1000, publication by Fordham University Press, and a reading by the winning poet and judge in the POL series at Fordham-Lincoln Center. This year”s judge for the POL prize is Alice Fulton. For application and entry guidelines, check the full guidelines. Entries must be received by October 31. There is a $25 entry and reading fee.

Margie: The American Review of Poetry awards the Margie Strong Medicine Award annually to a single poem. This year”s judge is Laurence Goldstein, award winning poet and editor of the Michigan Review. Entries must be postmarked by October 31. See the full contest rules and guidelines for more information.

The North American Review annually awards the James Hearst Poetry Prize. First prize is $1000 and publication. This year”s judge is Ted Kooser, former Poet Laureate of the United States. The NAR offers the following tips for submission:

We have noticed that long poems rarely do well… too much can go wrong in a large space. Poems that have reached the finalist stage in our competition in the past are typically one to two pages. Winning poems always balance interesting subject matter and consummate poetic craft. We value both free verse and formal poems in rhyme and meter… both open and closed forms.

Full information is available at the NAR website.

Poems may be any length or style, but must be about Milwaukee or contain the word “Milwaukee.” Only one submission per poet, please.

The first prize is a $100 gift certificate from Schwartz Bookshops. The runner up receives an OnMilwaukee.com gift pack. Both winners will be featured in an OnMilwaukee.com article and have their poems published on the site.

Winners will be notified the week of Oct. 2.

Writers are encouraged to submit poems via e-mail to poetry@staff.onmilwaukee.com.

The OnMilwaukee.com editorial team will serve as contest judges.

“Every year we have been blown away by the level of talent in this city,” says OnMilwaukee.com writer and contest organizer, Molly Snyder Edler. “We hope this year”s contest will raise the bar even higher.”

The OnMilwaukee.com Milwaukee Poetry Contest started in 2002. Past winners include Susan Firer, Kate Kliner, Kathryn Gahl, Joanne Staudacher, Erich Ebert, Jessica Zierten, Tom Mollica, Charles P. Ries and Eva Stefanski.

“Who says poetry is dead? Poetry is alive and well in Milwaukee,” says Edler.

OnMilwaukee.com is the city”s only daily magazine and city guide, and has been in publication since 1998. Their annual poetry contest begain in 2001, and continues to be a popular annual event. Good luck if you”re from Milwaukee or wannabe!

Technorati Tags: poetry contests, poetry, milwaukee poetry

What was even neater was that the very next item on Frank”s blog was about Mike Snider, the sonnet blogger, who has prettied up his blog recently and given it a whole new face. Mike writes a new sonnet every week. Being a lover of poetry in form, I had to order his chapbook 44 Sonnets. He responded immediately and graciously and I had the lovely book in my hands within a week. And it is lovely – Snider”s sonnets are refreshingly modern – an example of what you can do with an old form in fresh language. Definitely a keeper.

Quickmuse is now up to 18 poets who have responded to the challenge of writing a poem in 15 minutes based on a piece of writing with which they are presented. New battles take place every two weeks. The next one is coming up on September 20, between Paul Muldoon and Andrew Motion.

You”ve got three weeks left to get in your entries to the Poetry Superhighway 2006 Contest. Remember, entry fee is $1 per poem. The collected entry fees will be shared among the top three poets – 50% to the winner, 30% for second place and 20% for third. The judges for the contest have been chosen, and short bios are on the site. The deadline for receipt of the poem and entry fee is October 7. Last word was over 250 paid entries as of August 26th.

Over 250 Paid entries have been received so far in this year”s Poetry Contest!

Remember – the PSH is structured so that every poet who enters wins a prize. It may not be money, but you can score some cool poetry books or memberships to poetry sites that have been contributed by other members of Poetry Superhighway. If you haven”t entered yet, DO click on the link below and send some poetry.

The rest is a direct quote from the newsletter – enjoy the info.

Enter the contest! Click on “2006 Poetry Contest” from the main PSH menu for all the details or e-mail Guidelines@PoetrySuperHighway.com to have them automatically e-mailed to you.

Thanks to all of our sponsors for helping to insure that everyone will get a prize just for entering, in addition to the cash prize to the top three scoring poets!

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THE POETRY SUPER HIGHWAY WEEKLY VIRTUAL UPDATE
http://PoetrySuperHighway.com/
ISSN: 1523-6587
August 28 – September 3, 2006

this week:

This week featuring poets from Pittsburgh, PA and Tuscon, AZ

2 new poetry and writing related links added this week.

The Literary Press and Magazine Directory 2006/2007: The Only Directory for the Serious Writer of Fiction and Poetry (Clmp Directory of Literary Magazines and Presses) by Council of Literary Press and Magazines featured this week in the Poetry Resource Books section of the PSH Bookstore.

Poetry / Writing related Classified Ads.

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POETS OF THE WEEK
This week”s featured poets are: Sankar Roy and Barbara Hasanat:

Sankar Roy (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a winner of PEN USA Emerging Voices, associate editor of international poetry anthology, Only the Sea Keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami (Rupa & Co, Bayeux Arts) which was one of the three finalists for 2006 Benjamin Franklin Award and winner of Skipping Stone Honor Award. His poems have appeared or forthcoming in Bitter Oleander, Blue Color Review, Color Wheel, Diner, Pittsburgh City Paper, Runes and Whiskey Island. Sankar”s recent project is creating an international website ( www.writersalliance.net ) to create a worldwide artistic and literary response against the genocide in Darfur.

Barbara Hasanat (Tuscon, Arizona) doen”t have a biography, just a life. She has read great literature all of her life-almost all of Dostoevsky before she was 12. Her favorite poets are Haiku poets Issa, Buson and Basho. She also likes many Chinese poets and Walt Whitman, Wordsworth, T.S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson. She began writing poetry 4 months ago about one year after becoming a Buddhist and beginning her practice of daily meditation. Barbara was born and lived in the great city of Chicago most of her life but now lives in Tucson, Arizona

Click on “FEATURED POETS” from the main PSH menu to read their work.