2017 Nemerov Sonnet Award Finalist - Happy and Sad

I was very happy to learn that my sonnet, "In the Attic," was selected as one of the finalists in this year's Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award contest. The poem will be published in an upcoming issue of Measure.

At the same time, I was sad to learn that this will be the last year of the contest. This was one of the few national contests dedicated to poetry in form. The judges were nationally-recognized formal poets, and William Baer, the force behind the contest, is one of the premier advancers of metrical poetry in this country.

There are still some national contests focused on form, including the Able Muse Write Prize and the Frost Farm Prize, among others, for which I am grateful. I only feel sorry for all of us, that we won't have that one dream to aim for any more, that of "winning the Nemerov." That certainly kept me writing some mornings, so thank you for that, Bill Baer.

Robert W. Crawford Named Derry Poet Laureate

On January 24, 2017, the town council of Derry, N.H., issued a proclamation naming Robert W. Crawford the first Poet Laureate of the town. The proclamation was initiated by Cara Barlow, the director of the Derry Public Library, and recognized the town's many links to poetry.

Robert Frost lived in Derry from 1900 to 1911, and attributed many of his poems to the time spent at the his Derry farm. In addition, the town boasts many writing groups and events, and is the home of the Frost Farm Poetry Conference on metrical poetry, held at the Frost Farm and founded by Mr. Crawford. In addition, he is the director of the Hyla Brook Reading Series and the co-founder of the Hyla Brook Poets, a monthly writing group that meets in Derry.

Mr. Crawford is a two-time recipient of the Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award and the 2011 winner of the Richard Wilbur Poetry Award for his collection The Empty Chair. His poems have appeared in First Things, Measure, Forbes, and many other national publications.

He will appear at various events in Derry and around the area during the course of his two-year appointment, and he will have a writing space at the Derry Public Library.

2016 Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award

I'm thrilled to announce that my sonnet, "Tennis Practice Against the Garage Door," was selected by Rachel Hadas as the winner of the 2016 Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award. The poem will be published in an upcoming issue of Measure.

Thanks to the Powow River Poets for helping workshop the poem, and a belated thank you to my son Ely for all that incessant noise! Congrats also to all the finalists, a fine group of poets.

NH Literary Awards Reader's Choice

Snowman's Code was chosen as the 2016 New Hampshire Literary Awards Reader's Choice for Outstanding Book of Poetry. Needless to say, I'm thrilled! Congratulations to Alice Fogel, whose book of poetry Interval won the award for poetry.