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, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses. In recent years, the nomination process for the Pushcart Prize has been opened to online journals and their editors. I have been pleased to see this acknowledgment of the quality of writing found in many electronic publications. Therefore, I am honored to offer the half-dozen works listed below as the 2009 nominees from Valparaiso Poetry Review for the Pushcart Prize. I hope readers will again view this action as an expression of VPR’s support for the inclusion of literature from online magazines for consideration in the long-standing tradition of this fine anthology.As I have continually mentioned 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, in print and online. Moreover, I am grateful when an opportunity arises for a few of VPR’s splendid poets to reach an even 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 2009 nominations from Valparaiso Poetry Review to be considered for inclusion in the next volume by the Pushcart Press, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses XXXV, which is scheduled to be published in December 2010:
PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINEES FROM VALPARAISO POETRY REVIEW
Alfred Corn: “Swiss Army Knife”
Kwame Dawes: “Among the Dithering Feathers”
T.R. Hummer: “Evening Report”
Allison Joseph: “Little Epiphanies”
Dorianne Laux: “Mine Own Phil Levine”
Brian Turner: “Molotov Cocktails”
I congratulate each of these poets, and I wish to express my appreciation to all the contributors whose works have appeared in VPR.
—Edward Byrne, Editor of Valparaiso Poetry Review
2 comments:
Thanks for posting this.
I enjoyed all your nominees, and wish them and you much success.
I appreciate those who are nominated. They are really good enough in poetry.
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