2006 Poetry Contest Winners!

Our most recent poetry contest was a raging success. We received far more submissions than we could have hoped for and—more importantly—the submissions were generally of remarkable quality. It was an honor and a pleasure to consider all the work sent our way.

Our finalist judge, Marvin Bell, had quite a task: It isn't easy to decide on four winners and a handful of honorable mentions from a ream of poetry and a few dozen handpicked finalists. "In the end, I chose, from among the best poems, those that were written interestingly and had something insistent about their content."

The four winning poems will be published in our upcoming 16th issue, set for release April 15th. The first place poem will also be nominated by Perigee for the 2007 Pushcart Prize.

First Place: "Gloves," by Jeri Theriault

Second Place: "In the Entrails of a Fish," by Grégoire Vion

Third Place: "Love in the Ruins," by F. J. Bergmann

Fourth Place: "The Narcoleptic Therapist," by Corey Mesler

Honorable Mentions: Kate Bernadette Benedict for "The Carrion Gardens;" Amanda Smith for "Mare;" Marcia Nehemiah for "I Spy," and "Transmogrification;" Grégoire Vion for "The Body," and "The Odyssey."

Congratulations to each of these poets, and thank you to all who participated in our 2006 Poetry Contest!