Poem Wins Award

Happy my poem, “On Wings,” won an honorable mention in the Love category. I’ll be reading it on May 28, 2016, at the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, along with the others. The program starts at 10:00, or earlier. Everyone is invited. After the reading, I’ll post the poem’s url. It will be published in the NCPS’s literary journal, Pinesong.

Dear Poets:

Here’s a complete list of the prize-winning poems and poets as selected by our distinguished judges:

• Description: A single prize of $100 for a serious poem, any subject, any style, maximum of 110 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text). Poems in this category are not published in Pinesong.
  Winner: “Dressing While Dying” by Stephanie Levin
  Finalists:
  “Smoke” by Melissa Hassard
  “Pinning Chance” by Susan Lefler
  “Liminal” by Bill Griffin
  “Eclipse of a Blood Moon: Southport, North Carolina” by Mary Hennessy
  “Wild Dogs of Istanbul” by Andrea Bates
   
  In all other contests, the cash awards are $50 for First Prize, $25 for Second Prize and $15 for Third Prize. All the numbered prize poems and Honorable Mentions were offered publication in the 2016 edition of Pinesong. The number of Honorable Mentions awarded were at the discretion of the judges (maximum of three per contest).
   
  Caldwell Nixon Jr. Award (Judge Shaindel Beers)
  Sponsored by the family of Sallie Nixon
• Poems written by adults for children 2 to 12 years of age.
• Any form, any style, maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “Nezumi to the kiln mice” by Susan Lefler
  Second Prize: “Snow Day” by Bonnie Korta
  Third Prize: “A Six-Year-Old Reads The Watership Down Film Picture Book” by Alice Osborn
  Honorable Mention: “Noah Knows Noise” by CarolynYork
  Honorable Mention: “Winter at Grandmother’s House” by Katherine Wolfe
  Honorable Mention: “Green Snakes, Grasshoppers, and Goldfish” by Stella Whitlock
  Carol Bessent Hayman Poetry of Love Award (Judge Erica Goss)
  Sponsored by Dave Manning
• Any form, any style, on the theme of love.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “In Which Symmetry Holds Up a Mirror to Love” by C.G. Thompson
  Second Prize: “Not on Paper” by Jim Henley
  Third Prize: “Sailing” by David T. Manning
  Honorable Mention: “Toolbox” by Charles Wheeler
  Honorable Mention: “On Wings” by Joanna A. McKeithan
  Griffin-Farlow Haiku Award (Judge Roberta Beary)
  Sponsored by Sue Farlow and Bill Griffin
   
  (Since Haiku are traditionally untitled, the first line is given in place of the title.)
  First Prize: “my daughter has grown” by Martin Settle
  Second Prize: “fog drifts” by Melinda Myerly
  Third Prize: “mast year” by Peter Krones
  Honorable Mention: “fog weaving” by Debbie Strange
  Honorable Mention: “day’s run” by Mike Blottenberger
  Honorable Mention: “turning 50” by Keith Woodruff
  Joanna Catherine Scott Award (Judge Gilbert Allen)
  Sponsored by Joanna C. Scott
• Sonnet or other traditional form (with the exception of sestinas).
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “Eighteen Weeks” by Jenna Cornely
  Second Prize: “Hymn” by Beth Copeland
  Third Prize: “Peach Tree” by JS Absher
  Honorable Mention: “The Dying of the Light” by JoAnn Hoffman
  Honorable Mention: “Benediction” by Jane Shlensky
   
  Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Light Verse Award (Judge Steven Schroeder)
  Sponsored by Diana Pinckney
• Any form, any style, including limericks.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “Ladylike Behaviors” by Jane Shlensky
  Second Prize: “Me and Sam Ragan Hike Bluff Mountain in Search of a Certain Lady” by Bill Griffin
  Third Prize: “I’m Gonna Lose Weight!” by Melinda Lyerly
  Honorable Mention: “Now I See Maneki-nekos Wherever I Go” by Deborah H. Doolittle
  Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award (Judge Lola Haskins)
  Endowed by Pepper Worthington
• Any form, any style, on the theme of American heritage, brotherhood/sisterhood, or nature.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
• First Prize: “A Widow on Chester Street” by Ashley Memory
  Second Prize: “Radio Tower” by Preston Martin
  Third Prize: “Touch Me Not” by JS Absher
  Honorable Mention: “Learning to Plant by the Signs” by Jane Shlensky
  Honorable Mention: “Gasoline and Liquor” by Justin Hunt
  Honorable Mention: “Still Searching” by Les Brown
   
  Poetry of Courage Award (Judge Allison Blevins)
  Endowed by Ann Campanella
• Any form, any style, on the theme of courage or crisis.
• Maximum of 36 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “Outer Bark” by Martin Settle
  Second Prize: “Dysthymia” by Susan Alff
  Third Prize: “Remaining” by Stephanie Smith
  Honorable Mention: “Sky Walkers” by Valerie Macon
  Honorable Mention: “Ambushed After My Mother’s Funeral” by Susan Lefler
  Ruth Morris Moose Sestina Award
  Endowed by Ruth Moose
• Any poem in the sestina form.
  First Prize: “Catch and Launch” by Julie Ann Cook
  Second Prize: “Death Tax” by Holly Cian
  Third Prize: “Neighbors” by Deborah H. Doolittle
  Honorable Mention: “Noir” by Bill Griffin
   Thomas H. McDill Award
  Sponsored by the Board of the NC Poetry Society
• Any form, any style, maximum of 70 lines (including poem title, any epigraph, blank lines, and lines of text).
  First Prize: “Valentine” by Melissa Hassard
  Second Prize: “Labyrinth” by Susan Lefler
  Third Prize: “The Dance” by David T. Manning
  Honorable Mention: “corpus” by Sarah Edwards
  Poetry of Protest Award
  Co-Sponsored by Bob Katrin and Jacar Press
  First Prize: “Gunfight at the Badgett Range” by Stella Ward Whitlock
  Second Prize: “Winter Solstice” by Beth Copeland
  Third Prize: “Prayers” Mark Smith-Soto
  Honorable Mention: “Bluebird Prospective” by Joyce Brown
  Honorable Mention: “From Abu Grhraib to San Bernadino” by Eric Weil
  Honorable Mention: “Extinction of the Milky Way” by Claudine Moreau
  Congratulations to all the winning authors and all the participating authors who helped make our contests competitive!