Announcing Winners and Finalists of Jack Grapes Poetry Prize 2018

The 2018 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize — our 6th annual poetry contest — was our biggest and most successful by far! With 1,163 entries, and 2,872 individual poems, our tireless first round readers whittled that number down to 77 poems which were then sent to our three judges, F. Douglas Brown, Rocío Carlos, and me, for the final judging. Each of us chose one winner and two finalists, for a total of three winners and six finalists, presented here.

Poems Chosen By Judge F. Douglas Brown:
Winner: Valorie Ruiz, “In Which We Make Metaphors Out of Traumas”
Finalist: Carlos Andrés Gómez, “C(h)ord”
Finalist: Cameron Morse, “Night Clouds in the Black Hills”

Poems Chosen By Judge Rocío Carlos:
Winner: Chyenne Avila, “In This Short Film, The Black Girl Becomes a Woman…”
Finalist: Kay Tipsord, “The Affects Of History”
Finalist: Anurak Saelaow, “Material World”

Poems Chosen by Judge Alexis Rhone Fancher:
Winner: Jude Goodwin, “Words to never use in a poem”
Finalist: Maximilian Heinegg, “Dreamer”
Finalist: Scott Laudati, “Santa Fe Trail”

Each winner receives $200. Each finalist receives $50.

Big thanks to the following people who made this year’s contest a reality: Jack Grapes, Rocío Carlos, F. Douglas Brown, Chanel Brenner, Nicelle Davis, Rich Ferguson, Jubi Arriola-Headley, Victoria McCoy, James Fancher, Chiwan Choi, and our intrepid publisher, Adam Leipzig.

Feast on these poems, each one remarkable, accessible, and unforgettable to the judges and we hope to you. Btw, we’d love to read your comments on the poems. Make our day!

Alexis Rhone Fancher, Poetry Editor, Cultural Weekly

Photo by Alexis Rhone Fancher

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