We are pleased to announce the winner and finalists for the first annual Homebound Publications Poetry Prize!
Winner: The winner of the first annual Homebound Publications Poetry Prize is Gary Whited for his collection, Having Listened.
Gary Whited is a poet, philosopher and psychotherapist. He grew up on the plains of eastern Montana, and a strong sense of place pervades his poems, whether that place is the prairie, the city or the inner spaces we inhabit. His poems have appeared in several journals, including Salamander, Plainsongs, The Aurorean, Atlanta Review, and Comstock Rewiew. He is currently working on a new translation of the complete fragments of the 5th century BCE thinker, Parmenides.
Finalist: The finalist for the poetry prize is Amy Nawrocki for her collection, Four Blue Eggs.
Four Blue Eggs a selection of poems contemplating the beauty of nature and the power or family and of the self. Amy Nawrocki is a Connecticut native, raised in Newtown and now living in Hamden. She received a Bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas. She has received numerous awards for her poetry, including winning the Litchfield Review Poetry Contest, finalists from the Codhill Chapbook Competition and from The Loft Anthology, and honorable mentions from Phi Kappa Phi, New Millennium Writings, and the Connecticut Poetry Society. Finishing Line Press has published her three chapbooks: Potato Eaters, Nomad’s End, and Lune de Miel. With her husband, Eric D. Lehman, she wrote A History of Connecticut Wine and A History of Connecticut Food. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the University of Bridgeport and is mother to two cats, Maple and Django.
Honorable Mentions:
- Aaron Cornett for, Dreamer’s Journey
Growing up in a military family, Aaron Cornett had the pleasure to travel to many countries, engage in many cultures, and witness the miracle that is the world we live in. This experience helped give him a greater acceptance of the diversity in our world and a greater appreciation of the life he has been given. His writing comes from an active mind and lifestyle. He loves the adventure and the paths of creativity that writing creates. He currently live in South Alabama. He is married to a beautiful woman, have a wonderful son, own two smart dogs and a mean cat. Life is good.
- Andrew Jarvis for, Strait
Andrew Jarvis is the author of two published chapbooks of poetry, Choreography (Johns Hopkins University, 2007) and Sound Points (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2013). He holds an M.A. in Writing (Poetry) from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland. He has published poems in both of their literary journals as well as the Federal Poet. He is a professional writer and editor, and he also has been an adjunct professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia.
- Lynn Creager for, Home: Stepping Inside Out
Lynn Creager lives in Jefferson City, Missouri. She also lives part of the year in West Melbourne, Florida with her family. Lynn published several poems in an Anthology entitled, All The Lonely People Where Do They All Come From? by Plum Tree Books. She also is published in a compilation by Permanent Travelers, vol. 1 and vol. 2. Lynn is an aspiring poet with several projects in the make.
- Karina Lutz for, Preliminary Visions
Karina Lutz is a workshop leader, poet, teacher, freelance writer and editor, and sustainable energy consultant. She was founding board chair and then Deputy Director of People’s Power & Light, a social entrepreneurial energy consumers’ alliance with a mission to make energy affordable and environmentally sustainable, and continues to consult to the organization. Lutz led activists in the passage of major sustainable energy legislation in Rhode Island and in thwarting a proposed megaport in Narragansett Bay. Currently, she teaches global studies at Providence College and is developing experiential sustainability curriculum for Apeiron Institute and Rhode Island College.
The manuscripts of the winner Gary Whited and the finalist Amy Nawrocki will both be published.
Look for Having Listened in September 2013 and Four Blue Eggs in February 2014!
Thank you to all those who entered. Entrants will receive a complimentary copy of Having Listened upon its release.