2012 William Redding Competition winners announced - plus The Poetry Forum's schedule for the rest of the season

From Steve Abbott:

The Poetry Forum is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 William Redding Competition:

First Place: Ellie Swenson, Columbus
Second Place: David Nichols, Columbus
Third Place: Rachel Wiley, Columbus

Winners were selected in a blind process by Poetry Forum coordinators Rose Smith, Connie Everett, and Steve Abbott.

Ellie Swenson will receive $100 and be the featured reader at The Poetry Forum's final reading of the season on May 7 at 7 PM at Rumba Cafe, 2507 Summit Street (at Hudson) in Columbus.

Dave Nichols will receive his choice of a $50 bookstore gift certificate or a seat in Columbus Salon, the monthly poetry workshop hosted by Rose Smith. He will read a mini-set at the May 7 reading.

Rachel Wiley will receive a $25 bookstore gift certificate. She will read a mini-set at the May 7 reading.

We thank everyone who submitted work. We received submissions for across the state, and overall quality of work was impressive. Several poets who were not among the winners are under consideration for individual readings in the coming year.

We hope to see all of you at upcoming readings.

The Poetry Forum

at Rumba Cafe

Featured readings + open mic since 1984

Mondays 7 p.m.

2507 Summit Street @ Hudson Street, Columbus

Spring 2012

March 12 ~ Michael vander Does

March 19 ~ Michael Bernstein

March 26 ~ [ No Poetry Forum ]

April 2 ~ Andy Roberts

April 9 ~ Christine Howey

April 16 ~ The Greenville Poets

Catherine Essinger, David Garrison, Belinda Rismiller,

Lianne Spidel, & Myrna Stone

April 23 ~ Blaire Miller Bommer

April 30 ~ David Baratier

May 7 ~ Ellie Swenson

2012 William Redding Competition winner

Comments

OPA Ambassadors Report: NE Ohio with Ray McNiece

From the frozen tundra of the Firelands, through the rusty blast furnace of Cleveland, along the Crooked River’s ice chattering shallows of Kent, down to the worn rubber slushy tire churn of Akron, to the gritty grey clang of Youngstown there’s hot stove poetry cooking this winter all across the Northeast corner of Ohio. We boast a plethora of venues from bookstores, libraries, coffeehouses, cocktail bars and clubs where you can hear the varied carols of our poets should you dare venture out into our perpetually grey climes. Here’s a few highlights, some upcoming features and a reminder of ongoing workshops and reading series. In early December Billy Collins read at CWRU’s Maltz Center to a packed house. He often visits Cleveland thanks to George Bilgere of JCU. John Burroughs had a front row seat. The Tongue in Groove Poetry Music Jam (every third Sunday at the Millard Fillmore on Waterloo hosted by Ray McNiece) featured Mwatabu Okantah reading from his new book A Black Voice in t...

Odes of October 2024 Contest Winners Announced

OPA is pleased to announce that our judge for 2024, Karen Scott, has chosen the three winners and three runners-up for the 2024 Odes of October contest. First prize is awarded for "Restless Peace," by Jo Anne Moser Gibbons. First prize includes an award of $65 and inclusion in the 2025 issue of Common Threads, as well being published below. Second prize goes to "Scarecrow," by Dr. Anna Cates. This prize includes an award of $25 and appears below. Third prize goes to "Fall," also by Jo Anne Moser Gibbons. This prize includes an award of $10 and appears below. Honorable mention poems were: "Rite of Passage," by Claire Scott Rubin "Alone in Silence," by Jonathan Smith "Assassination Attempt Haiku," by Susan Glassmeyer Karen said she found her task made more difficult by the high quality of submissions, so each participant should be congratulated for their work. We thank them for participating and being a member of the OPA. A spe...

Barbara Sabol and Erica Reid named 2024 Ohio Poets of the Year

The Ohio Poetry Day Association has selected Barbara Sabol and Erica Reid as our 2024 Ohio Poets of the Year. Congratulations to these two amazing writers! Barbara Sabol was selected for her book of poems, WATERMARK: Poems of the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889 (Alternating Current Press, 2023) . The poems in WATERMARK follow the path of the “great flood,” from the time prior to the perfect storm of events resulting in the disaster to the devastating aftermath and the reclamation of a bustling industrial city. The book is a poetic testimony of the great flood story through voices of the unidentified victims; their circumstances and lives imagined from morgue entries. The narrative also paints the backdrop of recovery and renewal, in the voices of survivors, telegraphers, aid workers, and historical figures such as Clara Barton. Watermark is a lyric narrative of this country’s largest and most dramatic flood of the 19th century, told from the perspective of those whose lives it ...

Ohio Poetry Association Blog

Search This Blog