Winning Writers Announces the Winners of the 14th Annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest

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Apr 15, 2017, 04:52 ET

NORTHAMPTON, Mass., April 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its fourteenth annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, judged by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier. Jeff Shearer of Nashville, Tennessee won the Tom Howard Prize of $1,500 for a poem in any style or genre, for "The Fitting". Trent Busch of Lake Park, Georgia won the Margaret Reid Prize of $1,500 for a poem that rhymes or has a traditional style, for "Edges of Roads". 2,926 entries were received from around the world.

"The Fitting" juxtaposes liturgical phrases from the 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, with instructions for the bulletproof vest he wore as protection against homophobic attacks. Frazier commented, "Brilliantly conceived and simply structured, this poem employs ordinary words to impart an extraordinary moment."

"Edges of Roads" meditates on the overlooked spaces where the human-made environment borders the wild one. Frazier commented, "We have all felt the sharp thrill, the tricky freedom, of seeing but not being seen. Yet most of us would be hard-pressed to describe it as artfully as it is set forth in this poem."

Ten Honorable Mentions of $100 each went to Lynn Houston, Laura M. Kaminski, Ellen Girardeau Kempler, Madelaine Caritas Longman, Jed Myers, Jim Nawrocki, Daniel Renton, Beth Somerford, Ann Struthers, and Gail Thomas. The top 12 poems and judge's comments are published at WinningWriters.com.