Bob Sharkey announced the results of the first annual Stephen A DiBiase poetry contest on Sunday, March 13th. Local poet and Hudson Valley Writers Guild board member, Dawn Marar, took first place for her poem ‘Beyond the Naupaka Hedge.’ Several other local and regional poets won awards or were finalists. A public reading by many of these poets will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2:00 p.m. at the Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library.
This contest had 303 entrants from 37 states and DC and from 9 other nations. There were 27 finalists which were ranked by the judges as follows:
First Place, bonus for community poet, bonus for local poet, $700
Beyond the Naupaka Hedge—Dawn Marar of Delmar NY
Second Place, $250
The Resolution of Neglect Syndrome—Jen Karetnick of Miami Shores FL
Third Place, $125
Plantation’s Corn—Paul Weidknecht of Phillipsburg NJ
Fourth Place, $100
On the Rising Prices of Corn at Festivals—Michelle Chen of Whitestone NY
Special Founder’s Award, $90
Now, morning…—Karen Fabiane of Troy NY
Honorable Mentions (9), $65
- Stopping By The Columbarium—Jackie Craven of Schenectady NY
- Siobhan In Washington Park (age 46)—Sylvia Barnard of Albany NY
- Argiope Aurantia—Pat Tompkins of San Mateo CA
- American Woman—Lucia Cherciu of Poughkeepsie NY
- Don’t Read This One Out Loud—Merisa Dion of Derry NH
- A Brief History of Fun—Howard Kogan of Stephentown NY
- Shipwreck—Joe Krausman of Menands NY
- Earthquakes in Oklahoma—Lauren Elizabeth Delucchi of Washington DC
- Nondescript—Ashley Hyun of Tenafly NJ
Other Finalists
- I loved you long before I even met you—Kirsten Textor of Lyngby, Denmark
- To a Child at Enlightenment—J.C. Elkin of Annapolis MD
- Winter Walk—Francis DiClemente of Syracuse NY
- Let Me View Life-The Way the Heart Feels…—Jennifer Circosta of Campbell Hall NY
- “all told”—Joel Best of Niskayuna NY
- Inside the Picture Frame-For Aiyana Stanley-Jones—Keli Osborn of Eugene OR
- Missing you—Carol Kloskowski of Christmas MI
- Sad Nymph—Betsy Butcher of Iowa City IA
- Richard Nixon Must Die (for all the victims of the War)—Dan Wilcox of Albany NY
- Salt Is The Spice Of Life—Philip Good of East Nassau NY
- modie badanov—Canon Pau of Los Angeles CA
- On a Night With a Poet—Sally Rhoades of Albany NY
- Meaning of Man—Erin Gillett of Los Angeles CA
