In the spring of 2022, The Orchard Street Press conducted its fifth annual Poetry Contest, an event that has grown with each passing year. The Press received entries from 37 states, almost 700 poems in all.
From these submissions, we selected 48 poems for inclusion in Quiet Diamonds 2022 (about 7%). Among those selected poems, the following were selected for cash awards:
Prize-winning poems
1st Prize ($500) and the Malovrh-Fenlon Poetry Prize: Robert Milby of Florida, NY for “Beethoven’s 9th Sonata”
2nd Prize ($300): Timothy Martin of Ann Arbor, MI for “Postcards Portmortem”
3rd Prize ($200): Joe Cullen of Big Rapids MI for “At Chemo”
Finalists
“Corn Dance:” Deborah Bachels Schmidt; El Sobrante, CA
“Meal Ticket:” Pat Anthony; Fontana, KS
“Miscellany of Dreams:” Timothy Martin
“Near Two Each:” Valerie Sopher; El Cerrito, CA
“Seascape:” Steve Kupferschmid; West Chester, PA
“Looking for the Banded Sphinx:” Susan Craig; Columbia SC
“For My Daughters:” Al Gabor; Evanston, IL
“Cook’s Run Michigan:” R.H. Miller; Louisville, KY
“Beyond Satie:” Robert Milby
“Hummingbird:” Kimberly Karshner; Oberlin, OH
“How To Not Forget:” Charles Becker; Laguna Woods, CA
“She Answers:” Tim Louis Macaluso; Rochester, NY
Semi-Finalists
“Insomnia:” Alan Elyshevitz; East Norrington, PA
“To a Survivor:” Elaine Zimmerman; Hamden, CT
“Crumbs for a Lonely God:” Lew Forester; Arvada, CO
“Ash Wednesday, Creekwalking:” Elizabeth Chapman; Palo Alto, CA
“At Low Tide, Gulls Cry:” Mary Ann Honaker; Beaver, WV
“Boundary Conditions:” Trevor Tringle; Richmond, VA
“Connections:” Joyce Snyder; Palo Alto, CA
“The Feral Weather of November:” Phillip Sterling; Lowell, MI
“House Standing:” Roselyn Elliott; Richmond VA
“The Days:” Mark MacAllister, Pittsboro, NC
“Night Nurse:” Tim Louis Macaluso
“Periods:” John Davis; Bainbridge Island, WA
“Webster Street:” Yvonne; Philadelphia PA
“In Medias Res:” Ann Snyder; Palo Alto CA
Honorable Mentions
“Leavening:” Steve Kupferschmid
“The Hunter’s Step:” Mary Ann Honaker
“Let Me:” Alissa Sammarco; Cincinnati, OH
“Baby Fat:” Eric Chiles; Bethlehem, PA
“Vigil:” Ruth Danon; Beacon, NY
“Vlad:” Richard Hague; Cincinnati, OH
“Inheritance:” Ann Bower; South Pomfret, VT
“County Woman’s Lament:” Janet Smith Post; Highlands Ranch, CO
“To the Bone:” Nancy Cavers Dougherty; Sebastopol, CA
“Sailing Lake Seneca:” Kimberly Karshner
“Decision Tree:” Alan Elyshevitz
“Ripples:” Joyce Snyder
“The Grammar of Grief:” Jean Nordhaus; Washington, DC
“WWII Hero Dead at 50:” Craig McVay; Columbus, OH
“Crabbing at Alsea Bay:” Lorraine Jeffrey, Orem UT
“We Never Gave Up Hoping:” Bill Griffin; Elkin, NC
“Waterscape:” Elizabeth Chapman
“Timon of Athens:” Stehpehn Kudless; Staten Island, NY
“Prayer in Spring:” Bob Wickless; Reidsville, NC