Latorial Faison and Sean Patrick Mulroy won the sixteenth annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Winning Writers
3,895 entries were received from around the world.
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (PRWEB) April 15, 2019
Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its sixteenth annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, judged by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier with assistance from Jim DuBois. Latorial Faison of Chester, Virginia won the Tom Howard Prize of $1,500 for a poem in any style or genre, for "Mama Was a Negro Spiritual". Sean Patrick Mulroy of Portsmouth, Virginia won the Margaret Reid Prize of $1,500 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style, for "Villanelle for the Wound". 3,895 entries were received from around the world.
"Mama Was a Negro Spiritual" is a list poem that flows like syncopated music as it pays tribute to the strengths of a multifaceted black woman, a matriarch composed of equal parts celebration and lament, strict household maintenance and humble self-giving. Frazier commented, "Like prayer, like faith, like devotion, this poem focuses its adherents on what is essential and meaningful."
"Villanelle for the Wound" adheres to a demanding repetitive form while fracturing its lines across the page to evoke a traumatic incident of homophobic bullying, and the speaker's bystander guilt, which he can only confront piecemeal. Frazier said, "Sometimes, a skilled craftsman surpasses apprenticeship to reveal himself as a master, paying homage to institutionalized traditions by advancing them."
Ten Honorable Mentions of $100 each went to Wes Civilz, McKayla Conahan, Jen Stewart Fueston, Brooke Harris, Simon Lewis, Belle Ling, Kathleen Lynch, Matt W. Miller, Tim Slade, and Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. Contest co-sponsor Duotrope awarded Faison and Mulroy each a one-year gift certificate (value $50) to access Duotrope's extensive literary information services. The top 12 poems and judge's comments are published on the Winning Writers website.
The 2019 contest is now open through September 30, 2019. The top prizes have been increased to $2,000 each. See the guidelines and enter online.
In addition to the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, Winning Writers sponsors the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, the North Street Book Prize for Self-Published Books, and the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee). Writer's Digest has named it one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (2015-2018). For daily contest news and tips for writers, join our 116,000 followers on Twitter.
