soddo ethiopia 1 by Brad Canfield the sun disintegrates in a ditch a pile of clothes that are no longer any real color the sound of wind in metal wash tubs the sound of the sun on yellow jugs lined up at the well the sound of painted soccer balls swinging in a net from …
Canned Fruit in the Crawl Space by Diana Morley Mom has no use for Bible talk—sinners, saints, all gobbledegook cooked up to snag your soul. When she and Jesus met by chance, each stared in disbelief, asked out loud which of us is real? Jesus saves souls, not worldly goods; Mom who saves goods, asks …
One Light by Krayna Castelbaum i stand in the gently flowing stream stately as the trees still as the rocks all of us dappled by the same light Judge’s comments I appreciate the simplicity of this third-place poem, and I love its wrap. —Colette Tennant Krayna Castelbaum honors her passion for deep inquiry …
Click here to read a wonderful essay about the late and much-missed Oregon poet, Ursula K. Le Guin, at the Poetry Foundation. David Naimon writes “When I’m asked what it was like to collaborate with Le Guin, I often reply that she didn’t suffer fools.”
Honorable mentions: 1st Honorable Mention: “Visit to Seattle” by Lucy Cotter, Portland, OR 2nd Honorable Mention: “Response to Tess Gallagher’s poem ‘He Would Have, in Moon Crossing Bridge’” by Bren Carver, Newport, OR 3rd Honorable Mention: “Coming Home” by Emily Antonia Fox García, Vancouver, WA Judge’s comments I had to remind myself I was judging …
2018 Fall Contest, New Poets, Honorable Mentions and Judge’s Comments Read More »
Searching for the True Gesture #2 by Joshua Boettiger My Grandfather has my mother sit on her hands so she can learn to talk without gesticulating. She grows up and becomes a dancer. I flail like a man without a piñata, who senses there might be one nearby. I reach for things elsewhere— the perfect …
2018 Fall Contest, Members Only, 1st Place Winner Read More »
Yelapa Regret by Lois Rosen Four-legged, seaside swain, sashays into my no-door, open-air palapa along with smells of grilling tortillas raucous chachalaca birdcall clatter. Light brown, maybe a Labrador mix more surfer dude than simpering pet a guest without reservations, here for a one-nighter, perhaps longer, a stray with no collar. I back away fretting …
2018 Fall Contest, Members Only, 2nd Place Winner Read More »
Picking Peaches by Judson Hyatt The way they are placed gently in the bottom of the galvanized bucket so their sibs have cushion when they arrive. The way the bucket fills quickly one after another so the late-comers can peep over the rim. The way heat blasts and sun-shade hats are needed to avoid the …
2018 Fall Contest, Members Only, 3rd Place Winner Read More »
Honorable mentions: 1st Honorable Mention: “Rowing Machine” by Judith Barrington, Portland, OR 2nd Honorable Mention: “Renault Shocked” by Charlie Southerland, Viola, AR 3rd Honorable Mention: “Tips” by John McPherson, Portland, OR Judge’s comments What a pleasure to dive into a great wodge of poems all 20 lines or less, by OPA members, and let them …
2018 Fall Contest, Members Only, Honorable Mentions and Judge’s Comments Read More »
Dream: At the Beach by Robin Rosen Chang [gview file=”https://oregonpoets.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Rosen_Chang-Dream-at-the-Beach.pdf”] Robin Rosen Chang’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review, Zone 3, Paterson Literary Review, Yemassee Journal, Vinyl Poetry, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and other journals. She has an MFA in Poetry from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. An …
2018 Fall Contest: Poet’s Choice, 1st Place Winner Read More »
