[Alex Pepple]

I'm pleased to announce the contest winners as chosen anonymously by the final contest judge - A.E. Stallings (for poetry book manuscript)--

Congratulations to Aaron Poochigian, Lee Harlin Harlin Bahan, Maryann Corbett, and all honorable mentions - (includes more Sphereans!)

Read the complete details here.

Cheers,
...Alex

[Michael Juster]

Congratulations, big guy!

[Tom Quigley]

Congratulations, Aaron!

[Catherine Chandler]

Congratulations, Aaron. The poems Alex posted along with the announcement are wonderful.

[Michael Cantor]

Congrats, Aaron! You're on a roll!

[Gregory Palmerino]

Well done, Aaron. It appears that this year the contest was especially competitive, so more power to you. And having been chosen by Alicia Stallings must make it all the more thrilling.

Cheers,
Greg

[Aaron Poochigian]

Thank you, everyone.

I am very humbled by the prestige of the judge and by the quality of the competition (if I had known Maryann was in the running, I wouldn’t have bothered to enter).

“Manhattanite” was written during my lonely (and pretty sad) last two years in New York. I did nothing but walk around the city and mouth poetry to myself--in retrospect, it is surprising that I was not locked up. On to the next volume and to sunny California (though, to be honest, it’s foggy this morning).

Thank you for your warm congratulations.

[John (J.D.) Smith]

This sounds great. I look forward to reading.

[Maryann Corbett]

A big thank-you to Alex for running the contest, to Alicia for judging, and to lots of you for your kind comments. And congratulations to all.

Aaron's book will be splendid, and I well remember that Lee's contributions to the Sphere in the past were sterling, so I expect great things of that book, too.

[Siham Karami]

Huge congratulations, Aaron! An impressive title just for starters, bodes sophistication. And congrats to Maryann and all the finalists!