North Carolina Poetry Society 2022 Adult Contest Results
NOTES: The order of honorable mentions and finalists does not indicate the judges’ preferences. The number of submissions is the number of submitted poems that met all of the contest requirements. The biographies of the judges will be printed in the 2022 Pinesong.
2022 Award-Winning Poems
NCPS Adult Contest Director Ashley Lumpkin has announced that our judges have made their selections for the North Carolina Poetry Society Pinesong Awards for 2022. Many of them pointed out that the process was both challenging and rewarding given the high quality of the submissions.
The first, second, or honorable mention awards and will be published in the Pinesong anthology. Nine other poems were declared finalists in the Poet Laureate contest.
Poet Laureate Award
Preliminary Judge: Anne McMaster; final selection by Joseph Bathanti
Winner: “Two Variations on a Theme of a Tenement (as Viewed from the Window of a Moving Train with a Song Interposed“ by Maria Rouphail
Finalists:
“A praise poem, without the praise” by Mary Hennessy
“IF WAKING RECAPITULATES THE EXPULSION FROM EDEN” by Celisa Steele
“Interjections” by Kat Bodrie
“making order of things” by Lucinda Trew
“Perseids” by Kelly Jones
“Nightsong” by Joyce Compton Brown
“Summer at the Boy’s Camp” by Carlin Corsino
“Take Jesus, for Example” by S. L. Cockerille
“Teaching the Blind Girl” by Maureen Sherbondy
Alice Osborn Award (poems written for children)
Judge: Christina Erny
First Place: “The Frog Prince” by JeanMarie Olivieri
Second Place: “Pioneer” by Bradley Samore
Honorable Mention:
“Hard to Get” by Maura High
“Nearly Winter” by Gary Phillips
“HOT DOG! WITH ALL THE RELISH HE CAN MUSTER” by C. Pleasants York
Carol Bessent Hayman Poetry of Love Award
Judge: Angelo T. Geter
First Place: “a walk on the beach the night of our 25th anniversary” by Kelly Jones
Second Place: “A Meal to Die For” by Mary O’Keefe Brady
Honorable Mention:
“Love Wild” by Laura Alderson
“Joy Prom” by Lee Ann Gillen
Joanna Catherine Scott Award (sonnet or other traditional form)
Judge: Mary Jaimes-Serrano
First Place: “Without/With 2022/2021” by Jeanne Julian
Second Place: “NOT NICE” by Nancy Young
Honorable Mention:
“Writing after Seventy” by Jane Shlensky
“Marriage Twice” by Martin Settle
“Seasons Turning” by Susan Spalt
Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Light Verse Award
Judge: Jeremy Paden
First Place: “When I Lost My Wallet” by J.S. Absher
Second Place: “Everyday Aphorisms for Lazy Speakers” by Jane Shlensky
Honorable Mention:
“Ode to Deodorant” by Bonnie Staiger
“Villanelle: To Sleep” by Jeanne Julian
“A Foodie Visits Normandie” by Mary O’Keefe Brady
Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award (heritage, sibling-hood, or nature themed)
Judge: Richard Smyth
First Place: “Copperhead” by Maura High
Second Place: “Palynology” by Lavonne J. Adams
Honorable Mention:
“A red bird in our psyche” by Liza Wolff Francis
“Thicket” by Anne Myles
Poetry of Courage Award
Judge: Kerri French Nelson
First Place: “Winter is for Wittering” by Bonnie Staiger
Second Place: “No More Voiceovers” by Marjorie McNamara
Honorable Mention:
“Getting to the Bottom of It” by Lee Stockdale
“body parts” by Thomas Jackson
“My Sister Shows Me Her Childhood Bus Route” by Joyce Compton Brown
Bruce Lader Poetry of Witness Award (contemporary events or issues)
Judge: Ashlee Haze
First Place: “The Big Mistake” by Thomas Jackson
Second Place: “October 4” by Kelly Jones
Honorable Mention:
“Nude, Descending a Staircase No. 2” by Cathy Sky
“Today the English Department Fills with Stretchers” by Maureen Sherbondy
“Decent/Descent” by Nick Sweet
Bloodroot Haiku Award
Judge: Robert Moyer
First Place: “busker’s hat” by Debbie Strange
Second Place: “spring graduation” by Ed Bremson
Honorable Mention:
“exposed bedrock” by Lorraine A. Padden
“her rocking chair” by Jennifer Hambrick
Thomas H. McDill Award
Judge: Gaynor Kane
First Place: “Litchfield Beach by Katherine Crawford
Second Place: “Abuela” by Maria Rouphail
Honorable Mention:
“A Prayer to the Technician Who Will Upload Us to the Cloud” by Benjamin Cutler
“Lea’s Gown” by Vivian I. Bikulege
“The Waters” by Alison Toney
All offers of prizes and publication are contingent on the authors’ acceptance and compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the official contest guidelines. While good faith efforts have been made to verify that the poems listed above do comply with the guidelines, North Carolina Poetry Society reserves the right to withdraw any offers in any cases where disqualification is warranted.