2021 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest Winners
By Nicholas Trandahl, Contest Chair
What a contest! The 2021 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest is in the books, folks. The winners have been notified and checks have been sent out. The entries in this contest were such a thrill to read. There were 239 entries received from all over the country, with $504.00 collected from entry fees and donations.
Winners and Honorable Mentions were:
Entries were received from all over the varied expanse of the United States, with poems coming in from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. It was truly a pleasure to read through these amazing poems. Like wildflowers, they bloomed beautifully from this uncertain time of a pandemic and polarization, giving me hope. It was with pleasure that I handed over this year’s stunning poetry to the judge for the 2021 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest, Vanessa Able.
Vanessa Able is a writer and editor who started her career as the editor-in-chief of Time Out Istanbul and went on to be a contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, as well as an associate editor at Esquire Latinoamerica in Mexico City. Her first book, Never Mind the Bullocks, was named a Scotsman Book of the Year. Vanessa is the founder and editor of The Dewdrop (www.thedewdrop.org), a literary platform dedicated to reading, writing and being.
As for me, Chair of the Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest, I am filled with so much gratitude and wonder at the diverse poetic voices that entered this contest, and I am so excited to see the entries that came in with the 2022 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest.
What a contest! The 2021 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest is in the books, folks. The winners have been notified and checks have been sent out. The entries in this contest were such a thrill to read. There were 239 entries received from all over the country, with $504.00 collected from entry fees and donations.
Winners and Honorable Mentions were:
- 1st/ “Onion Snow” by Christopher James (Gloversville, NY)
- 2nd/ “The Prodigal Daughter and an Angel With a Lip Ring” by Lyndi Waters (Kaycee, WY)
- 3rd/ “Arpan Hardpan” by Diana Swartz (Gillette, WY)
- Honorable Mention/ “Letters From Jail” by Clair McFarland (Riverton, WY)
- Honorable Mention/ “Rings” by C.A. Lozier (Bar Mills, ME)
- Honorable Mention/ “Pellicer Creek” by Reatha Thomas Oakley (Gillette, WY)
- Honorable Mention/ “Lost & Looking For Fulton Canyon” by Carol L. Deering (Riverton, WY)
- Honorable Mention “Nonbreeding (Scarce)” by Diana Swartz (Gillette, WY)
Entries were received from all over the varied expanse of the United States, with poems coming in from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. It was truly a pleasure to read through these amazing poems. Like wildflowers, they bloomed beautifully from this uncertain time of a pandemic and polarization, giving me hope. It was with pleasure that I handed over this year’s stunning poetry to the judge for the 2021 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest, Vanessa Able.
Vanessa Able is a writer and editor who started her career as the editor-in-chief of Time Out Istanbul and went on to be a contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic Traveler, as well as an associate editor at Esquire Latinoamerica in Mexico City. Her first book, Never Mind the Bullocks, was named a Scotsman Book of the Year. Vanessa is the founder and editor of The Dewdrop (www.thedewdrop.org), a literary platform dedicated to reading, writing and being.
As for me, Chair of the Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest, I am filled with so much gratitude and wonder at the diverse poetic voices that entered this contest, and I am so excited to see the entries that came in with the 2022 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest.
About the Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest
Eugene V. Shea (1925-2016)
This contest is named in honor of the late Eugene V. Shea, a longtime member of WyoPoets. Eugene was a prolific writer who was beloved by many in WyoPoets. He ran the organization's national contest for many years, and his dedication to the written word, to encouraging other writers, and to WyoPoets will forever be appreciated.
The contest takes place each fall.
The contest takes place each fall.
