POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY

POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY
Click Image to Visit the Pecan Grove Press Web Page for Poetry from Paradise Valley

POETRY FROM PARADISE VALLEY web page

Poetry From Paradise Valley

Pecan Grove Press has released an anthology of poems, a sampling of works published in Valparaiso Poetry Review during its first decade, from the original 1999-2000 volume to the 2009-2010 volume.

Poetry from Paradise Valley includes a stellar roster of 50 poets. Among the contributors are a former Poet Laureate of the United States, a winner of the Griffin International Prize, two Pulitzer Prize winners, two National Book Award winners, two National Book Critics Circle winners, six finalists for the National Book Award, four finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award, two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and a few dozen recipients of other honors, such as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, etc.

Readers are encouraged to visit the Poetry from Paradise Valley page at the publisher's web site, where ordering information about the book can be found.

Best Books of Indiana 2011: Finalist. Judges' Citation: "Poetry from Paradise Valley is an excellent anthology that features world-class poetry, including the work of many artists from the Midwest, such as Jared Carter, Annie Finch, David Baker, and Allison Joseph. It’s an eclectic and always interesting collection where poems on similar themes flow into each other. It showcases the highest caliber of U. S. poetry."
—Indiana Center for the Book, Indiana State Library

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Pushcart Prize Nominations from VPR

In December, Pushcart Press will be releasing its 32nd edition of small press literary selections, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses. Since 1976, editor Bill Henderson has brought added recognition to the many fine small presses and literary journals publishing quality material with his annual anthology distributed by W.W. Norton. Writers whose early works were first highlighted in the pages of the series’ volumes include Charles Baxter, Raymond Carver, Joshua Clover, Andres Dubus, John Irving, Philip Levine, Philip Lopate, Susan Minot, Paul Muldoon, Tim O’Brien, Jayne Anne Phillips, Mona Simpson, and many others.

To honor his efforts during more than 30 years of publishing the anthology, the National Book Critics Circle presented Bill Henderson with their Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received the Poets & Writers/Barnes and Noble Writers for Writers Prize. In addition, the Pushcart Prize anthology has been chosen by the New York Times Book Review as a “Notable Book of the Year” on multiple occasions.

However, only in recent volumes has the nomination process for the Pushcart Prize been opened to online journals and their editors. I applaud this move, and I encourage further acknowledgment of the high quality of writing found in many electronic publications. Therefore, I am pleased to offer the six works listed below as nominees from Valparaiso Poetry Review for the Pushcart Prize, perhaps also signaling one way to express VPR’s support for the inclusion of pieces from electronic magazines for consideration in the anthology.

As I have mentioned in the past when nominating works from Valparaiso Poetry Review for the additional recognition of an award or further publication in any “best of” anthology, I value all the poems and depend on all the poets in VPR. Therefore, such decisions are not easy. Yet, I welcome the admirable efforts of the Pushcart Press and Bill Henderson to bring attention to the excellent literary works found in small presses and journals. Moreover, I am pleased when an opportunity arises for a few of VPR’s splendid poets to reach a larger audience and find the greater recognition they deserve through possible inclusion in such an anthology.

I am proud to announce the six following poems represent the nominees from the 2007 issues of Valparaiso Poetry Review to be considered for inclusion in the next volume of The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, which will be published in December 2008:


PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINEES FROM 2007 ISSUES OF VPR


John Balaban: “Finishing Up the Novel After Some Delay”

Barbara Crooker: “Lemons”

W.D. Ehrhart: “Coaching Winter Track in Time of War”

Anne Haines: “Swallowed”

H. Palmer Hall: “Vietnam Roulette”

Diane Lockward: “Temptation by Water”



I congratulate each of the poets, and I wish to express my appreciation to all the contributors whose works have appeared in VPR this past year.

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