Poetry Society of Tennessee 67th Annual Poetry Contest Results
Thank you to all who submitted poems for the society's 67th Annual Poetry Festival Contests. First place winners and Tennessee Voices contest finalists will appear in Tennessee Voices, 2023-2024. A special thanks to guest judges:
Seventeen contests were sponsored along with a Best of Fest award to the top poem of the festival. Congratulations to all poets whose work was selected for a prize or honorable mention and many thanks to all entrants. Deepest gratitude to all contests sponsors and judges (see contests for details).
Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2023-2024 will become available for purchase in late summer. Check here for updates.
Thank you to all who submitted poems for the society's 67th Annual Poetry Festival Contests. First place winners and Tennessee Voices contest finalists will appear in Tennessee Voices, 2023-2024. A special thanks to guest judges:
- For Tennessee Voices contest: judge Amie Whittemore and review board judges Matthew Wimberley, Thomas Holmes, and Susan Chamberlain
- For "Play it Again, Sam" contest: guest judge Crystal Robbins
Seventeen contests were sponsored along with a Best of Fest award to the top poem of the festival. Congratulations to all poets whose work was selected for a prize or honorable mention and many thanks to all entrants. Deepest gratitude to all contests sponsors and judges (see contests for details).
Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2023-2024 will become available for purchase in late summer. Check here for updates.
67th Annual Poetry Festival Contest Results
1. Tennessee Voices Award
Tennessee Voices Award was sponsored by the PST Board and open to Tennessee residents and PST members.
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Max 40 ELIGIBILITY:
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Dance Over My Dust”
2nd: Laura Gunnells Miller, “Lunar Concert with Streetlights”
3rd: Sherry Poff, “Dinner Date”
FINALISTS
Dr. Emory Jones, "Border Country"
Natalie Kimbell, "Driving Up Lewis Chapel Mtn"
Sean Kyte, "How Else Are We To Fly"
Danita Dodson, "O, Rhododendron Soul"
Cynthia Storrs, "Ode to My Brother"
Claudia Stanek, "Plant"
1. Tennessee Voices Award
Tennessee Voices Award was sponsored by the PST Board and open to Tennessee residents and PST members.
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Max 40 ELIGIBILITY:
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Dance Over My Dust”
2nd: Laura Gunnells Miller, “Lunar Concert with Streetlights”
3rd: Sherry Poff, “Dinner Date”
FINALISTS
Dr. Emory Jones, "Border Country"
Natalie Kimbell, "Driving Up Lewis Chapel Mtn"
Sean Kyte, "How Else Are We To Fly"
Danita Dodson, "O, Rhododendron Soul"
Cynthia Storrs, "Ode to My Brother"
Claudia Stanek, "Plant"
67th Annual Poetry Festival Contest Results
2. Play it Again, Sam
This contest, for previously published poems only, was sponsored by the PST Board and open to members only.
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Ron Lands, “Rete Mirabile”
2nd: Connie Jordan Green, “Myth of the Fish”
3rd: Deborah-Zenha Adams, “Counsel for Going to the Western Territory”
1HM: Ron Lands, “The Evangelist”
2HM: Sarah Small, “Spring on Chestnut Top”
3HM: Sarah Small, “Strawberry Moon in June”
4HM: Connie Jordan Green, “On Not Remembering”
5HM: Ron Lands, “Waiting for Wednesday”
2. Play it Again, Sam
This contest, for previously published poems only, was sponsored by the PST Board and open to members only.
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Ron Lands, “Rete Mirabile”
2nd: Connie Jordan Green, “Myth of the Fish”
3rd: Deborah-Zenha Adams, “Counsel for Going to the Western Territory”
1HM: Ron Lands, “The Evangelist”
2HM: Sarah Small, “Spring on Chestnut Top”
3HM: Sarah Small, “Strawberry Moon in June”
4HM: Connie Jordan Green, “On Not Remembering”
5HM: Ron Lands, “Waiting for Wednesday”
67th Annual Poetry Festival Contest Results
Contests 3-17
Many thanks to the individuals and businesses who sponsored (and judged) the bulk of our festival contests. Sponsors are noted below.
3. President’s Award
SPONSOR: Lisa Kamolnick
SUBJECT: “Little big things” FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 50
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Fission”
2nd: Adam Lambert, “Reverse Wedding”
3rd (tie): Lorraine Jeffery, “Eight Seconds”
3rd (tie): Sarah Small, “Cairn”
1HM: Sara Gipson, “Toting Love”
2HM: Kayla Nichols, “in the ache”
4. Reflections
SPONSOR: Ruby Jones
SUBJECT: Reflections FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min.10 – Max 50
1st: Danita Dodson, “Bits and Pieces”
2nd: Kayla Nichols, “we are forged women”
3rd: Jeff Price, “Leaning Mirror”
1HM: Rita Aiken Moritz, “She's Found a Better Place”
2HM: Lorraine Jeffery, “Mirror”
5. Found in the Text
SPONSOR: Deborah-Zenha Adams
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Erasure LINE LIMIT: Max 50
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Poems must be drawn from the book A Handy Guide for Beggars: Especially Those of the Poetic Fraternity by Vachel Lindsay.
1st: Laura Gunnells Miller, “Moving On”
2nd: Rachel Dixon, “Rose to Burn”
3rd: Lisa Kamolnick, “A Wish for Peace”
HM: Cheryl Dixon, “The Concept”
6. I’ll Take the French Form, S’il Vous Plait
SPONSOR: Harry and Rita Moritz
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any French Form LINE LIMIT: As dictated by form
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “From a Trailer on the Edge of Town”
2nd: Connie Jordan Green, “Song for Fall”
3rd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Au Revoir”
1HM: Gail Denham, “Night’s Captive”
2HM: Chrissie Anderson Peters, “October Leaves”
3HM: Allison Joseph, “Homesick Wanderlust Blues”
7. The Diane M. Clark Award
SPONSOR: Dr. Diane M. Clark
SUBJECT: A Billboard FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 32
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “Play That Billboard Game Again, 1956”
2nd: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Barnyard Billboard”
3rd: Donna Harlan, “Stuckey’s”
1HM: Tanya R Whitney, “The Camel on the Billboard”
2HM: Patricia Hope, “Billboards bring us thoughts”
8. Fishing Tales
SPONSOR: Howard Carman
SUBJECT: Fishing FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Greer Litton Fox, “Gambling After Sunset”
2nd: Terry Jude Miller, “something”
3rd: Sara Gipson, “Fishing the Day Away”
1HM: Fred Tudiver, “Jigging for Cod”
2HM: Anita Dees, “Catching Turtles”
3HM: Russell H. Strauss, “The Fish Whisperers”
9. Jane West Memorial
SPONSOR: Gail Denham
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Fibonacci LINE LIMIT: None
1st: Sarah Small, “August Afternoon”
2nd: Sara Gipson, “For a Point”
3rd: Rita Aiken Moritz, “He's Such a Man”
1HM: William G. Hill, “if my dog said”
2HM: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Misnomer”
3HM: Donna Harlan, “Alive”
10. Haiku
SPONSOR: Connie Jordan Green
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Haiku sequence
LINE LIMIT: The haiku sequence should be a minimum of 15 lines (5 haiku) and maximum of 21 lines (7 haiku)
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “Freeze Warnings”
2nd: Patricia Hope, “Late Spring”
3rd: Sarah Small, “winter mountains sleep”
1HM: Sara Gipson, “Autumn”
2HM: Chrissie Anderson Peters, “Majestic Maple”
3HM: Walter Biskupski, “A Summer’s Day at Eagle Creek”
11. Grands
SPONSOR: Dr. Emory D. Jones
SUBJECT: Grandparents or Grandchildren FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Remembering Tomorrows”
2nd: Cynthia Storrs, “Halloween Double Nonet”
3rd: Annette Gagliardi, “Seen in the Day Room at Senior Manor”
Honorable Mentions (no particular order)
HM: Gail Denham, “Echoes of Christmas”
HM: Greer Litton Fox, “What's in a Name?”
HM: Russell H. Strauss, “Mistaken Identity”
HM: Stephanie DuPont, “The Scent of Home”
HM: Patricia Hope, “Ode to a Grandson”
HM: Wesley D. Sims, “Last Visit to Grandma's House”
12. Tennessee Etheree
SPONSOR: Pat Hope
SUBJECT: anything Tennessee-related FORM: Etheree LINE LIMIT: 10 or 20 per form
1st: Sarah Small, “Smoky Mountain Sabbath”
2nd: Russell H. Strauss, “Beale Street After Saturday”
3rd: Deborah-Zenha Adams, “A Feud in Robertson County”
1HM: Lisa Kamolnick, “Perpetual Apologies”
2HM: Natalie Kimbell, “Our Tennessee”
13. Memory Bank
SPONSOR: Janet Qually
SUBJECT: Any (an ekphrastic in response to a specific image) FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Gail Denham, “Been There”
2nd: Russell H. Strauss, “Hmm!”
3rd: Walter Biskupski, “Different Forms”
HM: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Whirlwind”
14. Tennessee Heroes
SPONSOR: Anna’s Pet Sitting JUDGE: William Hill
SUBJECT: The greatest Tennessean, past or present FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Magnanimous Margaret”
2nd: Donna Harlan, “Wilma Rudolph”
3rd: Christine Kohler, “The Pioneer”
1HM: Allison Joseph, “Time is Tight in honor of Booker T. Jones”
2HM: Sara Gipson, “Joseph Burt Scott”
3HM: Patricia Hope, “Villanelle for the Farmer”
15. Tennessee Villains
SPONSOR: William Hill Art and Poetry JUDGE: William Hill
SUBJECT: The worst Tennessean, past or present FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “The Man Who Never Changed”
2nd: Donna Harlan, “Andrew Jackson”
3rd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “George”
1HM: Emory D. Jones, “Catlett Tipton: Sevier County Criminal”
2HM: Cheryl Dixon, “The Worst Tennessean”
3HM: Laurie Szilvagyi Featherstone, “The Dastardly Declarant”
16. Bobbie Drobeck Memorial Award
SPONSOR: Russell H. Strauss
SUBJECT: any humorous subject FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min. 6 – Max. 20
1st: Dr. Emory D Jones, “Deep Freeze”
2nd: Howard S Carman Jr., “I Am a Bic Pen Tamer”
3rd: Wesley D. Sims, “I Found a Plum”
1HM: William G Hill, “If Robert Frost Had Tried to Work at My House”
2HM: Sally Boyington, “Tortured by Dr. Seuss”
3HM: Patricia Hope, “Spanish is Fun and Conquistadors Were Just Looking for a Good Fishing Hole”
17. Joan T and Sheron B Strauss Memorial Award
SPONSOR: Russell H. Strauss
SUBJECT: Across the Border (a poem about any of the eight states that border Tennessee)
FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min. 10 – Max. 40
1st: Laura Gunnells Miller, “A Rift Between Sisters: North Carolina and Tennessee”
2nd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “They're Red Hot”
3rd: Connie Jordan Green, “Weeksbury, Kentucky, 1946”
1HM: Lorraine Jeffery, “Tracking Arkansas Mountains”
2HM: Tanya R. Whitney, “Battlefield of Vicksburg”
3HM: Terry Jude Miller, “The New Arkansans”
Contests 3-17
Many thanks to the individuals and businesses who sponsored (and judged) the bulk of our festival contests. Sponsors are noted below.
3. President’s Award
SPONSOR: Lisa Kamolnick
SUBJECT: “Little big things” FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 50
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Fission”
2nd: Adam Lambert, “Reverse Wedding”
3rd (tie): Lorraine Jeffery, “Eight Seconds”
3rd (tie): Sarah Small, “Cairn”
1HM: Sara Gipson, “Toting Love”
2HM: Kayla Nichols, “in the ache”
4. Reflections
SPONSOR: Ruby Jones
SUBJECT: Reflections FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min.10 – Max 50
1st: Danita Dodson, “Bits and Pieces”
2nd: Kayla Nichols, “we are forged women”
3rd: Jeff Price, “Leaning Mirror”
1HM: Rita Aiken Moritz, “She's Found a Better Place”
2HM: Lorraine Jeffery, “Mirror”
5. Found in the Text
SPONSOR: Deborah-Zenha Adams
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Erasure LINE LIMIT: Max 50
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Poems must be drawn from the book A Handy Guide for Beggars: Especially Those of the Poetic Fraternity by Vachel Lindsay.
1st: Laura Gunnells Miller, “Moving On”
2nd: Rachel Dixon, “Rose to Burn”
3rd: Lisa Kamolnick, “A Wish for Peace”
HM: Cheryl Dixon, “The Concept”
6. I’ll Take the French Form, S’il Vous Plait
SPONSOR: Harry and Rita Moritz
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Any French Form LINE LIMIT: As dictated by form
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “From a Trailer on the Edge of Town”
2nd: Connie Jordan Green, “Song for Fall”
3rd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Au Revoir”
1HM: Gail Denham, “Night’s Captive”
2HM: Chrissie Anderson Peters, “October Leaves”
3HM: Allison Joseph, “Homesick Wanderlust Blues”
7. The Diane M. Clark Award
SPONSOR: Dr. Diane M. Clark
SUBJECT: A Billboard FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 32
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “Play That Billboard Game Again, 1956”
2nd: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Barnyard Billboard”
3rd: Donna Harlan, “Stuckey’s”
1HM: Tanya R Whitney, “The Camel on the Billboard”
2HM: Patricia Hope, “Billboards bring us thoughts”
8. Fishing Tales
SPONSOR: Howard Carman
SUBJECT: Fishing FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Greer Litton Fox, “Gambling After Sunset”
2nd: Terry Jude Miller, “something”
3rd: Sara Gipson, “Fishing the Day Away”
1HM: Fred Tudiver, “Jigging for Cod”
2HM: Anita Dees, “Catching Turtles”
3HM: Russell H. Strauss, “The Fish Whisperers”
9. Jane West Memorial
SPONSOR: Gail Denham
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Fibonacci LINE LIMIT: None
1st: Sarah Small, “August Afternoon”
2nd: Sara Gipson, “For a Point”
3rd: Rita Aiken Moritz, “He's Such a Man”
1HM: William G. Hill, “if my dog said”
2HM: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Misnomer”
3HM: Donna Harlan, “Alive”
10. Haiku
SPONSOR: Connie Jordan Green
SUBJECT: Any FORM: Haiku sequence
LINE LIMIT: The haiku sequence should be a minimum of 15 lines (5 haiku) and maximum of 21 lines (7 haiku)
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “Freeze Warnings”
2nd: Patricia Hope, “Late Spring”
3rd: Sarah Small, “winter mountains sleep”
1HM: Sara Gipson, “Autumn”
2HM: Chrissie Anderson Peters, “Majestic Maple”
3HM: Walter Biskupski, “A Summer’s Day at Eagle Creek”
11. Grands
SPONSOR: Dr. Emory D. Jones
SUBJECT: Grandparents or Grandchildren FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Remembering Tomorrows”
2nd: Cynthia Storrs, “Halloween Double Nonet”
3rd: Annette Gagliardi, “Seen in the Day Room at Senior Manor”
Honorable Mentions (no particular order)
HM: Gail Denham, “Echoes of Christmas”
HM: Greer Litton Fox, “What's in a Name?”
HM: Russell H. Strauss, “Mistaken Identity”
HM: Stephanie DuPont, “The Scent of Home”
HM: Patricia Hope, “Ode to a Grandson”
HM: Wesley D. Sims, “Last Visit to Grandma's House”
12. Tennessee Etheree
SPONSOR: Pat Hope
SUBJECT: anything Tennessee-related FORM: Etheree LINE LIMIT: 10 or 20 per form
1st: Sarah Small, “Smoky Mountain Sabbath”
2nd: Russell H. Strauss, “Beale Street After Saturday”
3rd: Deborah-Zenha Adams, “A Feud in Robertson County”
1HM: Lisa Kamolnick, “Perpetual Apologies”
2HM: Natalie Kimbell, “Our Tennessee”
13. Memory Bank
SPONSOR: Janet Qually
SUBJECT: Any (an ekphrastic in response to a specific image) FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Gail Denham, “Been There”
2nd: Russell H. Strauss, “Hmm!”
3rd: Walter Biskupski, “Different Forms”
HM: Howard S. Carman Jr., “Whirlwind”
14. Tennessee Heroes
SPONSOR: Anna’s Pet Sitting JUDGE: William Hill
SUBJECT: The greatest Tennessean, past or present FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “Magnanimous Margaret”
2nd: Donna Harlan, “Wilma Rudolph”
3rd: Christine Kohler, “The Pioneer”
1HM: Allison Joseph, “Time is Tight in honor of Booker T. Jones”
2HM: Sara Gipson, “Joseph Burt Scott”
3HM: Patricia Hope, “Villanelle for the Farmer”
15. Tennessee Villains
SPONSOR: William Hill Art and Poetry JUDGE: William Hill
SUBJECT: The worst Tennessean, past or present FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: 40
1st: Russell H. Strauss, “The Man Who Never Changed”
2nd: Donna Harlan, “Andrew Jackson”
3rd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “George”
1HM: Emory D. Jones, “Catlett Tipton: Sevier County Criminal”
2HM: Cheryl Dixon, “The Worst Tennessean”
3HM: Laurie Szilvagyi Featherstone, “The Dastardly Declarant”
16. Bobbie Drobeck Memorial Award
SPONSOR: Russell H. Strauss
SUBJECT: any humorous subject FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min. 6 – Max. 20
1st: Dr. Emory D Jones, “Deep Freeze”
2nd: Howard S Carman Jr., “I Am a Bic Pen Tamer”
3rd: Wesley D. Sims, “I Found a Plum”
1HM: William G Hill, “If Robert Frost Had Tried to Work at My House”
2HM: Sally Boyington, “Tortured by Dr. Seuss”
3HM: Patricia Hope, “Spanish is Fun and Conquistadors Were Just Looking for a Good Fishing Hole”
17. Joan T and Sheron B Strauss Memorial Award
SPONSOR: Russell H. Strauss
SUBJECT: Across the Border (a poem about any of the eight states that border Tennessee)
FORM: Any LINE LIMIT: Min. 10 – Max. 40
1st: Laura Gunnells Miller, “A Rift Between Sisters: North Carolina and Tennessee”
2nd: Howard S. Carman, Jr., “They're Red Hot”
3rd: Connie Jordan Green, “Weeksbury, Kentucky, 1946”
1HM: Lorraine Jeffery, “Tracking Arkansas Mountains”
2HM: Tanya R. Whitney, “Battlefield of Vicksburg”
3HM: Terry Jude Miller, “The New Arkansans”