Southeastern Minnesota Poets is pleased to announce the winners of the Bright Light Stories in the Night Poetry and Illustration Contest. Selected poems will be illustrated by selected artists for an e-chapbook to be presented at a family-friendly virtual reading on March 4, 2022, at 7 p.m.
Poetry winners
• James Armstrong, Solstice 2020, Winona
• D.E. Green, Frost in May, Northfield
• Scott Lowery, And Then, Rollingstone
• Steven McCown, Balancing Act, Northfield
• Anne Shea, Teaching, Rochester
• Steven Vogel, Star Talk, Rochester
Honorable Mention
• Emilio DeGrazia, Old Miracle Cures, Winona
• Jean Prokott, On the Task of Collecting, Rochester
Selected poets will receive $100 and publication in the chapbook. Poets named honorable mention will receive $50 and have their poem illustrated as a broadside.
Illustration winners
• Janie Allen, Rochester
• Rachel Brokenicky, Rochester
• Christie Nicklay, St. Charles
• Sheila Perry, Chatfield
• Debb Peterson, Albert Lea
• Daniel Vedamuthu, Rochester
Honorable Mention
• Muhammad Khan, Rochester
• Layne Noser, Dodge Center
Selected artists will receive a $200 prize to create four-six illustrations of one of the selected poems for the “Bright Light Stories in the Night” e-chapbook. Artists named honorable mention will receive a $50 prize to create a broadside for an honorable mention poem.
Judges for the contest were poets Lauren Camp, Michael Kleber-Diggs, and Matt Rasmussen and artists Marie Marvin, Juliane Shibata, and Jonathon Thunder.
The following poets were contest finalists: Jake Griggs (Dakota), Nancy Hengeveld (Preston), Steven Schild (Winona), and Pam Whitfield (Rochester). The following poets were semifinalists: Jon Allen (Rochester), Samsam Ali (Rochester), Tim Brennan (Austin), Nora Curtis (Austin), Julie Hathaway (Rochester), Teri Joyce (Rochester), Audrey Kletscher Helbling (Faribault), Janet Rode (Albert Lea), and Vivian Stolz (Lake City).
The following artists were contest finalists: Rita LeDuc (Fountain) and Kenna Sandborn (Byron). The following artists were contest semifinalists: Megan Fick (Plainview), Missy Hagen (Rochester), Ellen Saul (Northfield), and Eric Thomas (Alden).
Visit www.facebook.com/events/4709053789174626?ref=newsfeed for complete Bright Light Stories in the Night event information.