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Ohio Poetry Day Association names 2021 Poet of the Year and Contest Winners

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The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) has selected Quartez Harris as its Ohio Poet of the Year for 2021. Harris was selected for his book of poems, We Made It to School Alive (Twelve Arts Press, 2020).


Residing in Cleveland, Ohio, Harris is a second-grade teacher at Michael R. White Elementary School. We Made It to School Alive, his second collection of poetry, was inspired by his work as a teacher and gives voice to the experiences of the children he works with every day who deal with issues of gun violence, poverty, educational challenges, and more.

Harris’ first book, Nothing, But Skin, was published in 2014 by Writing Knights Press. He is the first recipient of the Barbara Smith Writer-In-Resident at Twelve Literary Arts and a 2020 Baldwin House Fellow. He has been featured in the Plain Dealer, IdeaStream, and City Club of Cleveland, and recently signed on to be represented by Mckinnon Literary Agency. His works in progress are a young-adult novel and picture book biography. Learn more at quartezharris.com. To purchase a copy of We Made It to School Alive, visit twelve-arts-press.myshopify.com.

Quartez Harris

Harris’ book was one of seven books nominated this year. He joins the likes of Mary Oliver, David Baker, and Maggie Smith as Poet of the Year. To see a list of previous Poet of the Year winners, visit the OPA blog article here.

Annual Contest Winners

OPDA also has released the winners list for the 2021 OPD contests (see below). Winners and Honorable Mentions for the 24 contests reside not only in Ohio but across the United States and even overseas. Contest winners are invited to take part in the OPD event on October 16 by reading their winning poem(s). Winners should email OPA President Chuck Salmons,  president(@ohiopoetryassn.org, by October 10, 2021.

Join the Celebration: Ohio Poetry Day 2021

Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
Time: 1:30—4:30 PM
Registration: Event will take place on Zoom. Register via Eventbrite. Registrants will receive an email with Zoom login information. Space is limited. The event also can be viewed without registration live on the OPA Facebook page: facebook.com/ohiopoetry.

About Ohio Poetry Day

The Ohio Poetry Day Association was founded in 1937 by authorization of the Ohio Legislature. Since 1976, it has selected annually an Ohio Poet of the Year, basing its choice on a book published in the previous one to two years. The award is based on the one book and not on an aggregation of work published over time. Four judges are selected to review the nominees, one of which is always a previous poet of the year winner.

For more information about Ohio Poetry Day, visit ohiopoetryday.blogspot.com.

         

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Location: Columbus, OH, USA

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