Contest – Poetry Society of Michigan

Annual Contest Winners for 2021

Published on August 23, 2021August 25, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Category 1: Margo LaGattuta Memorial Award: Judge: Joy Gaines-Friedler

1^st I’d Have Painted Him in Altenburg,… Lynn Pattison, Kalamazoo, MI
2^nd Antinomy Thom Porter, Woodhaven, MI
3^rd Reverie at Slack Time Dr. Emory Jones, Iuka MS
HM Premonition Lori Zurvalec, Grosse Pointe, MI

Category 2: Chancellor’s Prize: Judge: Eric Torgersen

1^st How Will I Find Absolution Diana Hart, Kalamazoo, MI
2^nd Current Resume Art Curtis, Bellaire, MI
3^rd You Don’t Know Colleen Alles, Grand Rapids, MI
HM The Girl with a Green and a Brown Eye Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI

Category 3: Founder’s Prize: Judge: Russell Thorburn

1^st Michigan State Fair 1960’s Roberta Brown , Royal Oak, MI
2^nd Skinny Dipping at Cranbrook Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
3^rd Leaving Tawas, July 3rd Christian Belz, Pontiac, MI
HM New Buffalo Cassandra Caverhill, Ann Arbor, MI

Category 4: Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Poem: Judge: Elizabeth Kerlikowske

1^st You Probably Are One Too Laura Sweeney, Bloomington, IL
2^nd Learning to Sit Ann Weil, Ann Arbor, MI
3^rd Shifting Gears Milton Bates, Marquette, MI
HM Not Yet Robotic Robert Erlandson, Birmingham, MI

Category 5: George Dila Memorial Prose Poem: Judge: Robert Fanning

1^st Toad Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI
2^nd Home Visit Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Churned Terry Jude Miller, Richmond, TX
HM Sea of Stars Simon A. Thalmann, Kalamazoo, MI

Category 6: Nature: Judge: Alinda Wasner

1^st Wingbound II: Elegy Shy of Lamentation Barbara Saunier, Marne, MI
2^nd Call Winter Home Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Swarm Warning Iris Underwood, Leonard, MI
HM Japanese Maple Diana Dinverno, Troy, MI

Category 7: Love: Judge: Sue William Silverman

1^st The World Will Always Welcome Lovers Barbara Saunier, Marne, MI
2^nd What Her Eyes Did Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
3^rd Bringing Late Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
HM A Sort of Love Poem John Jeffire, Macomb, MI

Category 8: Music: Judge: M. L. Liebler

1^st Song and Dance Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI
2^nd Music Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
3^rd The House That Jack Built Sold On Jazz, Diana Cornell, Spring Lake, MI
HM Player of Player Pianos, a Love Poem, Sophia Rivkin, Southfield, MI

Category 9: Loss: Judge: Zilka Joseph

1^st New Widow Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
2^nd Mothers Claire Scott, Oakland, CA
3^rd Noise Trek Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
HM there, then David Fitch, Lathrup Village, MI

Category 10: Women and Science: Judge: Diane DeCillis

1^st Fluids Leak Like Rivers Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI
2^nd I Am a Standard Candle Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
3^rd Brushstrokes and Stars Carla Dodd, Waterford Township, MI
HM Peggy Whitson Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI

Congrtulations winners and thank you to all who entered!

WordView at Lowell Center for the Arts

Published on July 29, 2021July 29, 2021 by Editorial Staff

WordView is a series of workshops and discussions exploring the practice of collaboration between the visual and literary arts, culminating in a juried exhibition in the LowellArts Gallery, from January 8 to February 19, 2022. Click the logo above to learn more.

WordView is presented in partnership with the International Society of Experimental Artists and the Poetry Society of Michigan with funding in part from Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment For the Humanities.

California State Poetry Society Contest

Published on May 12, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Poetry Contest

Published on December 11, 2020 by Editorial Staff

The Michigan based journal, Third Wenesday‘s annual poetry contest:

Poem in Which the Poem Works Very Hard to Identify Itself / Kristen Brace

Published on December 1, 2020 by Editorial Staff

This poem by Kristen Brace won the Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Prize in PSM’s annual poetry contest. It appeard in the fall issue of Peninsula Poets.

Midland / Nancy Cook

Published on November 9, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Nancy Cook’s poem “Midland“, a response to the 2020 flood that made national headlines, was the winner of the Founder’s Prize in the 2020 poetry contest of the Poetry Society of Michigan.

Window / Patricia Barnes

Published on November 1, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Patricia Barnes of Wyandotte, Michigan is the winner of the Chancelor’s Prize in the Poetry Society of Michigan’s annual poetry contest.

Rust Belt / Randy K. Schwartz

Published on October 28, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Winner of the Margo LaGattuta Memorial Award in the Poetry Society of Michigan’s annual poetry contest is Randy K. Schwartz of Ann Arbor, Michigan. This poem and all of the other contest winners are featured in the latest edition of Peninsula Poets.

Farm Scene at Dusk / Sarah E. Moran

Published on October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 by Editorial Staff

An honorable mention from of 2019 Poetry Contest in the Evening category.

Poetry Society of Michigan 2020 Contest Winners

Published on September 6, 2020September 6, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Category 1: Margo LaGatutta Memorial Award
Judge: Daniel Edward Moore

1^st Rust Belt Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
2^nd All Night the Rain Kristin Brace, Ada, MI
3^rd November Jack D. Ferguson, Auburn Hills, MI
HM Rock, Paper, Scissors Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI

Category 2: Chancellor’s Prize
Judge: Laurence W. Thomas

1^st Window Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
2^nd Good Fencing Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
3^rd The Poet Goes Prospecting Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
HM The Staunch Listener Inge Logenburg Kyler, Eaton Rapids, MI

Category 3: Founder’s Prize
Judge: Dennis Hinrichsen

1^st Midland Nancy Cook, St. Paul, MN
2^nd Water, Water Everywhere… Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Jack Pine Savage Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
HM October, Southeast Michigan Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI

Category 4: Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Poem
Judge: Elizabeth Kerlikowske

1^st Poem in Which the Poem Works Very Hard… Kristin Brace, Ada, MI
2^nd I Explain to My Great Grandpa Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
3^rd Sounding the Alarm Lynne Fernandez, Farmington Hills, MI
HM Transformation Marilyn Churchill, Ann Arbor, MI

Category 5: George Dila Memorial Prose Poem
Judge: Phillip Sterling

1^st A Man and His Game David James, Linden, MI
2^nd pang Diana Hart, Kalamazoo, MI
3^rd Dear Therapist, Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
HM Velvet Ear Jill Doster Marcusse, Grand Rapids, MI

Category 6: Nature
Judge: Jerrold Narland

1^st Lucky 13 Terry Jude Miller, Richmond, TX
2^nd Backyard Nature Sue Yurick, Rockford, MI
3^rd Winter Snowfall Cynthia Weber Nankee, Canton, MI
HM Lost Mountain Lori Goff, Walled Lake, MI

Category 7: Love
Judge: Diane DeCillis

1^st Alien Lover Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI
2^nd Redolent Diana Dinverno, Troy, MI
3^rd Autumn Garden Jack D. Ferguson, Auburn Hills, MI
HM Falling Christian Belz, Berkley, MI

Category 8: Pandemic
Judge: Terry Jude Miller

1^st Counting Marie Davids, Ferndale, MI
2^nd Maybe Eric Greene, Royal Oak, MI
3^rd Languor Garrett Stack, Rockford, MI
HM Monthursday, Frisunday, April? Carla Dodd, Waterford, MI