~ Able Muse Write Prize (for Poetry & Fiction) ~
2012 Contest Winners Announcement
Able Muse is pleased to announce the winners of the Write Prize for fiction (judged anonymously throughout by the Able Muse Contest Committee and the final judges, Ellen Sussman [3] for fiction, and John Drury [4] for poetry. The winning writer and the winning poet will each receive a $500 prize.
Write Prize (for Fiction), Final Judge: Ellen Sussman [3]
FICTION WINNER: Adrianne Aron - "Random Sample"
Here is what Ellen Sussman has to say about Adrianne Aron's winning story: "'Random Sample' took me by surprise. I greatly enjoyed the voice, the prose, the quirkiness of the characters, but I wasn't ready for the knock-out ending. The author was able to tell a story with real depth, captured in a single moment. That's story-telling at its best."
The winning story will be published in the Winter 2012 [5] issue of Able Muse, print edition. (No other entry in the fiction category achieved selection for publication.)
* * * *
Write Prize (for Poetry), Final Judge: John Drury [6]
POETRY WINNER: John Beaton - "Murmuration"
Here is what John Drury has to say about John Beaton's winning poem:
With virtuoso brilliance, “Murmuration” captures the experience of witnessing a swirling flock of starlings. Technically, it’s a kind of impromptu. Its twelve lines consist of one winding sentence, the lines swerving between pentameter and trimeter, the five rhymes coming up at unexpected places, so the end of the opening line (“smoke”) isn’t echoed until the ninth (“cloak”). The effect is entirely mimetic of the swoops and turns of a flock (called a “murmuration” in reference to starlings, like an “exaltation” of larks or a “murder” of crows), but the manner is natural and casual—and yet heightened by the observer’s own excitement. One accomplishment of this poem is that the language and movement are thrilling in themselves. But I also like how it culminates with an insight into human nature, the speaker’s gratitude for this “recompense” from the natural world. The poem is finally about the rewards of paying attention to what happens outside the shelter of the self, taking in an everyday spectacle that might easily be missed. There are pleasing echoes of Robert Frost and Richard Wilbur in the method and manner of this refreshing poem.
SECOND PLACE: Leonard Kress - "Nausicaa and Odysseus"
Of the Leonard Kress's second-place poem, John Drury says:
“Nausicaa and Odysseus” is a wonderful retelling of an episode in Book VI of The Odyssey, spoken in a convincing contemporary voice and composed in terza rima. The final image of the princess “fingering a broken shell” is vivid and suggestive.
FINALISTS:
John Beaton - "For the Crofters"
Bruce Berger - "Idiot Savant"
Thomas Carper - "Experiencing Fauré"
Susan Cohen - "Strata"
Stephen Harvey - "Family Quartet"
Susan McLean - "In Arcadia"
Richard Meyer - "Well-Attended"
Jeanne Wagner - "The Flight into Egypt"
Sarah White - "The Ice Pond"
- The winning, second place and finalist poems will be published in the Winter 2012 [5] issue of Able Muse, print edition.
Congratulations to our winners, and finalists. Thank you to everyone who entered.
**NOTE: The results for the 2012 Able Muse Book Award are not yet available. They're expected before yearend.
Subscribe now to Able Muse to read the fine work of the contest winners and finalists in the forthcoming Winter 2012 issue [5].
Stay tuned for the announcements coming soon for the 2013 Able Muse contests. [7]
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[3] http://www.ellensussman.com/author.html
[4] http://www.uc.edu/profiles/profile.asp?id=5742
[5] http://www.ablemusepress.com/ablemuse-print
[6] http://www.rachelhadas.com/bio.html
[7] http://www.ablemusepress.com