[Ed Shacklee]

Bill Lantry's "The Terraced Mountain" is one of twelve finalists chosen from more than 260 entries for the XXXIII World Prize Fernando Rielo Mystical Poetry award. The winner, who will receive 7,000 euros, will be announced within the next two weeks, it seems.

I had to use an online translator to twig this out, but for those of you who have Spanish, the site is here.

Best,

Ed

[Mary Meriam]

wow, 7,000 euros sounds like a lot of dineros. Good luck, Bill!

[Lance Levens]

7,000! Pulling for you, Bill.

[Roger Slater]

Congratulations, Bill.

How odd that all the other eleven finalists are books in Spanish, while yours is in English.

[W.F. Lantry]

Thanks, all. Roger, no poet writing in English has ever won. Some have won writing in French, one in Rumanian, some in other languages, but never in English. Here's hoping I can break that streak this time. I can't say I'm overly concerned about the euros, although Kate does need a new car. I do think a win would be good for the metrical cause: 600 lines of mystical iambic pentameter, in my signature stanza structure, might change a few minds on the subject.

For those whose Spanish is not good, here's the (machine) translation:

Twelve finalists from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, United States and Spain opt to Fernando Rielo XXXIII World Prize for Mystical Poetry. The finalists have been selected from a total of 264 poems from 29 countries.

The proclamation of the winning work of the XXXIII World Prize Fernando Rielo Mystical Poetry, worth 7,000 euros, publication of the work and commemorative medal will be held on December 12 in Quito (Ecuador) at the Headquarters of the Technical University Loja.

So, who knows, Kate and I may be dashing off to Quito soon. Please keep your fingers crossed, everybody.

Those with (very) long memories will notice this is a record third time we've been finalists. Maybe the third time will be a charm?

Meanwhile, my publisher is very excited, and wants to bring out a book with all my Rielo entries. That would be five 600-line mystical Catholic poems. Of course, I'll need someone to write an introduction. But surely there must be some well known writer out there who wants to support and celebrate contemporary Catholic writing?

Anybody have Dana's email address?

Yours, in hope and anticipation,

Bill

[Janice D. Soderling]

Wow, 7000 euros is mindboggling.

If I were a believer, I'd pray for you, but anyway here's hoping for an English "first".

[Alex Pepple]

Congrats, Bill ... here's wishing all the zeroes in those €uros become yours!

...Alex

[Rob Wright]

Congrats Bill,

Whatever happens, to have made it this far is still worthy of praise. That's not to say I'm not pulling for you to get those Euros! If you do win, I think you should put them in a laundry hamper, jump in, toss them up, and shout "Weeee." I know I would.

RobW

[Susan McLean]

Congratulations and best of luck with the final decision, Bill.

Susan

[Gail White]

Woo hoo! Go for it, Bill!