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

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Pushcart Prize Nominations: VALPARAISO POETRY REVIEW

I am pleased to report that I have received a letter from Bill Henderson, editor of the annual anthology, The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, informing me that three poems published in the fall issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review (Volume XI, Number 1) have been nominated by the Board of Contributing Editors for Pushcart Press to be included in the upcoming 35th edition of the series.

Since 1976, Bill Henderson has brought added recognition to the many fine small presses and literary journals publishing quality material with his annual anthology. I am pleased to note that in recent years the nomination process for the Pushcart Prize has been opened to online journals.

The following poems from VPR were nominated by the Board of Contributing Editors, a distinguished body of authors that includes a number of the nation’s finest poets:

“Homily” by Sherman Alexie

“Aretha Franklin’s Inauguration Hat” by Cornelius Eady

“Molotov Cocktails” by Brian Turner

This news now brings to nine the total of Pushcart Prize nominations for works in the fall issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. Last November, in response to an editor’s invitation to nominate poetry from Valparaiso Poetry Review for the Pushcart Prize, I was honored to announce that I had named six poems—works by Alfred Corn, Kwame Dawes, T.R. Hummer, Allison Joseph, Dorianne Laux, and Brian Turner.

As I mentioned at that time, 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 some of Valparaiso Poetry Review’s splendid poets to reach an even larger audience and find the greater recognition they deserve through possible inclusion in such an anthology.

[Readers who enjoy Cornelius Eady’s poem will also appreciate Think: Poems for Aretha Franklin’s Inauguration Hat, a booklet edited by Patricia Spears-Jones and available online that contains various works inspired by the singer’s appearance at the Obama inauguration celebration.]


7 comments:

Marilyn Kallet said...

Congratulations! That's heartening!

Rock on!

Marilyn

Julie L. Moore said...

Wonderful, wonderful! More deserved recognition for Valparaiso Poetry Review and its fine poets. Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Congrats to all!

Parmer said...

I think this is very true. And it’s something that you have to remind yourself sometimes.

MBA Distance Learning

mfwilkie said...

I've had the pleasure of hearing Dorianne Laux read. She's a fantastic poet.

Congrats to Valparaiso and all the nominees.

gih said...

It's nice to hear that.

Unknown said...

I condone Valparaiso and all the rest. its such a wonderful feat. there are rising writers that we could see in all or nothing books , people who could really inspire us.