CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Serena Fusek is featured in the spring volume of The Bitter Oleander literary magazine. There

is a terrific interview of her and twenty-one of her poems. The Bitter Oleander is an established

literary magazine out of upstate New York. Congrats, Serena!!

Luisa Igloria’s new book is coming out, Juan Luna's Revolver (due out from University of

Notre Dame Press in November 2008 as the 2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry recipient).

Congrats, Luisa!!

John Pineda’s new book The Translator's Diary, winner of the 2007 Green Rose Prize, has

just been released. His first poetry collection, Birthmark won the 2003 Crab Orchard Award

Series. Congrats, John!!

Bill Glose has been announced as first prize winner for poetry and third prize for short story

in the 3rd annual York County Literary Contest. Congrats, Bill!!

See http://www.yorkcounty.gov/library/literary_contest/literarycompetition.htm.

At yesterday’s Poetry Society of Virginia Annual Contest Awards Luncheon the

following area poets were recognized (for wont of space, I am including only 1^st and 2^nd Place

winners PSV will post the complete results on the PSV website soon). Congratulations to each:

M.J. Kledzik of Norfolk won 1^st place in the 2008 Members’ Prize with “Purple Heart”

Florence S. Kuhn won 1^st place in the Carleton Drewry Memorial Prize with “West Virginia”

Patricia Flower Vermillion of Hampton won 1^st place in the Judah, Sarah, Grace and Tom

Memorial Prize with “Story Scraps from a Black Log Cabin Quilt”

Mary Mallek Haines of Williamsburg won 2^nd place in the same contest with her “The Dominant

Shin”

Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Virginia Beach won 1^st prize in the Cenie H. Moon Prize with “Hanan,

My Iraqi Sister”

David E. Lawrence of Hampton won 1^st place in the Ada Sanderson Memorial Prize for “Botanic

Sense”

Patricia Flower Vermillion of Hampton also won 1^st place in the Ole Fred Prize for “Following

Hopkins”

Norma Richardson of Richmond won 1^st place in the Elizabeth Neuwirth Memorial Prize for

“Looking into the mona Lisa”

Dr M. Lee Alexander of Williamsburg won 1^st place in the Laura Day Boggs Bolling Memorial

Prize for “My New Neighbor”

James Garrett of Richmond won 2^nd place in the same contest with “Hats”

Mary Mallek Haines of Williamsburg won 1^st place in the Miriam Rachimi Memorial Prize with

“Prelude (for Mother)”

Jane Ellen Glasser of Norfolk won 2^nd place in the same contest with “Daughter (May 18, 2007)”

Allen M. Weber of Hampton won 1^st place in the Jean H. Desmond Ekphrastic Poem Prize with

“on good days”

Patsy Anne Bickerstaff of Richmond won 2^nd place in the Williamsburg Poetry Guild Award

with “A Song for St. John”

Allen M. Weber of Hampton won 1^st place in the Scott Kirkpatrick Memorial Award with “Not

for the Flowers”

Dr. M. Lee Alexander of Williamsburg won 2^nd place in the same contest with “To a Poet on the

Eve of Her 50^th Birthday”

M.J. Kledzik of Norfolk won 2^nd place in the Emma Gray Trigg Memorial contest with

“Snapshot”

Robert P. Arthur of Virginia Beach won 1^st place in the Karma Deane Ogden Memorial contest

with “Sunday Seizure”

Mary Mallek Haines of Williamsburg won 1^st place in the Poem with a Point of View contest

with “No Exit”

Pete Freas won 2^nd place in the same contest with “Coulda, Shoulda Rain”

Allen M. Weber won 1^st place in the Loretta Dunn Hall Memorial contest with “Family Preserves”

Norma Richardson of Richmond won 2^nd place in the same contest with “Jabberwocky

Revisited”

Sunday Abbott of Virginia Beach won 1^st place in the Charlotte Wise Memorial contest with

“The Visit”

Virginia O’Keefe of Virginia Beach in the same contest with “I Am From”

Many of these also won 3^rd place or Honorable Mentions.

Other 3^rd place or Honorable Mention winners include:

Terry Cox-Joseph of Newport News

toni tyler of Chesapeake

Christy Lumm of Newport News

Guy Terrell of Richmond

Edward W. Lull of Williamsburg

Joanne Scott Kennedy of Toano

Susan Gwodes Drewery of Richmond

Robert E. Young of Virginia Beach

Trilla Ramage of Hampton

James McNally of Norfolk

Angela Jefferson of Richmond

John E. Hansen of Williamsburg

Evelyn Ritchie Tower of Richmond