2009 News
Judges Name Well Versed 2009 Winners
Four oft-published writers judged the blind submissions to Well Versed 2009 and selected prize winners. The guest editors also ranked other manuscripts to determine which would be published.
Thirty-seven members submitted poetry, prose, and photographs, with several sending in both poetry and prose. Several also submitted both fiction and nonfiction. The high volume compelled the editors to be selective, and more than a dozen manuscripts narrowly missed the cut.
Poetry prizes
Missouri Poet Laureate Walter Bargen agonized over choosing the prize winners from the most outstanding of the 65 poems. He named the following three Editor’s Picks.
1. Eva Ridenour—“Five Rocks on a Table”
2. Carol Gorski Buckels—“Birds at Midnight”
3. Evelyn Aholt—“The Old Man”
Walter gave four poems Honorable Mention.
Carol Gorski Buckels—“In Balance”
Ida Fogle—“Grandma in the Afterlife”
Amy White—“ Spare Change” and “Irregular Borders”
The entries impressed him so much that he offered to give a program for the group. He will speak July 12.
Fiction prizes
Because of the many prose manuscripts submitted, the managing editor assigned fiction and nonfiction to different pro bono judges. Tina Parke-Sutherland and Bill Sutherland, who teach writing at Stephens College, took on the heavier assignment: judging the fiction entries. Their Editor’s Picks follow.
1. Steve Whisnant—“ Photo Album”
2. Von Pittman—“Laundry Bag: Green Nylon”
They gave three Honorable Mentions.
Steven Adams—“The Right Thing to Do”
Betsy Murphy—“Hooking Up”
Teresa Parker—“September 14, 2003”
Nonfiction prizes
Kris Somerville, the marketing director for The Missouri Review, evaluated the nonfiction. Her selections were as follows.
Editor’s Pick: David Collins— “My Father’s Maps”
Honorable Mention: David Collins—“On Carnegie Hill”
Honorable Mention: Svetlana Grobman—“The Elephant”
The other winners
The judges also selected the following manuscripts for our 2009 edition.
Poetry
Larry Allen
To Charles As Brer Rabbit
While Eating Tacos At The Mall
Al Beck
Duo-Haiku
Carol Gorski Buckels
Zuzu’s Sonnet
Carol Buening
Circus Red
Hot Shot
Enef and the Pink Lady
Cheri Eichholz Cherry
We Are the Understory
Oak
Jim Coffman
The Paperhanger’s Children
Parties on the Lawn
Darryl Edwards
To My Brother Dwight
Ida Fogle
Now You are Twelve
Lori Galaske
Chambers of My Soul
Debra Hardin
Vestige
A Warm Day to Die
Shawna Matteson
Living Corpse
One Flesh
Rotting Soul
Debbie Parker
Stone Circle
Skull Rock
Eva Ridenour
Circle of Life
Country Store
Nicholas Straatmann
Between Here and There
Jaye Stock
Evening Remembered
It’s Friday
Swiftwalker
Love Your Lobster
Poem that Might Have Been
Starlings
Brush with Death
Cathy Thogmorton
Bittersweet
Amy White
While You Were Gone
Fiction
Barrie Bumgarner
Obsessions
Jimmy Capps
The Adventure at the Creek
Elizabeth Davis
When I Grow Up
Linda Fisher
Make a Splash
A Prisoner of My Dreams
The Big River Church
Lora Galaske
Raymond
The Best Prize
Snow Whispers
Teresa Parker
Father
Ice Cream Prayers
Chloie Piveral
Six of One
Kent Pollman
The Light Chamber
Steve Whisnant
Average
Nonfiction
Nancy Beverage
Stolen Winter Afternoon
Carol Buening
Annie
Critters in our Lives
Body Conditioning Class 101
Bridget Bufford
Another Marble in Your Jar
Jim Coffman
Go on Green
Dancing with Bears: 1960
Debra Hardin
Touched
Shawna Matteson
Ice Cream Calls and Doughnut Whispers
Steve Whisnant
Local Writing Group Shows Talent
Amy White
L’InAmy Whiteverno
Night Shades
Speeding