The Donald Justice Poetry Prize is a prestigious national competition[1] sponsored by the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Awards of the West Chester University Poetry Center. It has been given annually since 2006 to an American poet for an unpublished book-length manuscript of formal poetry.[2]
Each year, one manuscript is selected for the award [2] and is published in the spring. The submissions are judged blindly and selected by a notable poet who works in traditional forms. Past judges have included Erica Dawson, David Mason,[3]A. E. Stallings,[4] and Marilyn Nelson.
The winner receives $1,500 and will have the manuscript published by Autumn House Press. Prior to 2018, winning poetry collections were either published by Measure Press or West Chester University. The award is presented at the annual West Chester University Poetry Event each spring.
Past winners
The following are the winners of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize:[5]
- 2006 — Kate Light, Gravity's Dream: New Poems and Sonnets
- 2007 — Kim Bridgford, In the Extreme: Sonnets about World Records
- 2008 — John Poch, Two Men Fighting with a Knife[1][6]
- 2009 — Julie Kane, Jazz Funeral[7]
- 2010 — Ned Balbo, Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems[4]
- 2011 — Amit Majmudar, Heaven and Earth
- 2012 — Joanna Pearson, Oldest Mortal Myth
- 2013 — Anne-MarieThompson, Audiation
- 2014 — Susan McLean, The Whetstone Misses the Knife
- 2014 — Stephen Gibson, Rorschach Art Too
- 2015 — Jeff Hardin, Restoring the Narrative
- 2015 — Pat Valdata, Where No Man Can Touch
- 2017 — Ryan Wilson, The Stranger World
- 2018 — Chad Abushanab, The Last Visit
- 2019 — Katherine Barrett Swett, Voice Message
- 2020 — John Foy,[8] No One Leaves the World Unhurt
- 2021 — Alexis Sears, Out of Order
- 2022 — J. D. Debris, The Scorpion's Question Mark[9]
- 2023 — Erica Reid, Ghost Man on Second[10]
- 2024 — Sunni Brown Wilkinson, Rodeo[11]
References
- ^ a b Jessica Benham. "Texas Tech University Professor Receives Prestigious Donald Justice Poetry Prize." Texas Tech News. July 14, 2008
- ^ a b "West Chester University Poetry Conference". www.wcupa.edu. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000.
- ^ "'Julie Kane' interviewed by Derek Alger".
- ^ a b Lori A. May "An interview with Ned Balbo." Poets’ Quarterly Issue 3 – Spring 2010
- ^ "Contests and Awards – West Chester University". www.wcupa.edu.
- ^ "Education briefly." Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. July 21, 2008
- ^ "Cenla Campus Spotlight." The Town Talk. Alexandria, La. October 6, 2008.
- ^ "John Foy". John Foy.
- ^ "The Scorpion's Question Mark". Autumn House Press. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Christine (March 6, 2023). "Erica Reid's MS Wins the Donald Justice Poetry Prize". Autumn House Press. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Christine (March 15, 2024). "Winner of the 2024 Donald Justice Poetry Prize announced!". Autumn House Press. Retrieved January 12, 2025.