Best of the Net 2009 Nominations: VPR

Sundress Publications is again accepting nominations of poems published in online journals (between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009) for its annual “Best of the Net” anthology. As I have observed in the past, the editors of Sundress deserve praise for continuing to draw greater recognition to the presence of quality writing online.

In previous posts to “One Poet’s Notes,” I have expressed my high regard for every poem among those listed in the table of contents for each issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. I value all the poems and depend on all the poets in VPR, many of whom I have come to know well and have admired over the years. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge and accept occasions that allow some of VPR’s deserving poets an opportunity to reach a larger audience through special recognition or possible inclusion in an anthology.

Therefore, I have decided once more to adhere to the process I followed when making past nominations, which includes noting the numerous comments (concerning poems appearing in VPR’s pair of recent issues) that I have received in correspondence from readers or submitting poets throughout the past twelve months. In this manner, I obtained a sense of readers’ response to the poetry in the two issues of Volume X (Fall/Winter 2008-2009 and Spring/Summer 2009), which are eligible for the upcoming 2009 edition of the Sundress “Best of the Net” anthology.

Aided by those observations from VPR’s readers, I offer the editors of Sundress six poems for consideration selected from the two issues in Volume X of Valparaiso Poetry Review, and I am pleased to announce the following nominations:

SPRING/SUMMER 2009 (Volume X, Number 2)

Ingrid Wendt: “Armistice”
Pam Bernard: “War Work”
Kay Mullen: “You Ask Why I Left”

FALL/WINTER 2008-2009 (Volume X, Number 1)

Elise Paschen: “Moving In”
J.P. Dancing Bear: “Chiroptera”
Al Maginnes: “The Moon as Absence and Desire”

I offer my congratulations to the nominated poets. At the same time I express my appreciation to all the contributors whose works have appeared in VPR this last year, as well as in past years. I also hope this post encourages readers to continue communicating their feedback on writings in the journal, commentary I always enjoy receiving. Indeed, I am grateful for all the ongoing support Valparaiso Poetry Review has received from contributors and readers during a decade of publication, which will be celebrated with a special tenth anniversary issue of VPR next month. Readers are urged to check the blog sidebar for details about the upcoming issue’s contents.