Mar 02

2018 Poetry Festival Contest Winners

We are proud to congratulate our winning poets from the 2018 Modesto Poetry Festival’s poetry contest. Names and winning poem titles are listed below by category. Thank you to everyone who attended for making this year’s event another success!

Category: Arrivals and Departures

1st Place         Winter Iris  by Jennifer Lagier, Marina, CA

2nd Place       BART Rides  by Nancy Haskett, Modesto, CA

3rd Place         Something  by Ed Bearden, Modesto, CA

1st Honorable Mention   Wing  by Ellen Johnson, Sacramento, CA

2nd Honorable Mention   After the Grave by Linda Toren, West Point, CA

Category: The Disappearance of Things

1st Place         Clinging by Kate Aver Avraham, Santa Cruz, CA

2nd Place       An Ending  by Dmitra Gideon, Ceres, CA

3rd Place         Disappearance of Things  by Pat Egenberger, Modesto, CA

1st Honorable Mention     Illusion  by Gordon Preston, Modesto, CA

2nd Honorable Mention   Buddy  by Bonnie Gill, Glencoe, CA

Category: Empty Spaces

1st Place       The Siege  by Ellen Johnson, Sacramento, CA

2nd Place     Pruning  by Kate Aver Avraham, Santa Cruz, CA

3rd Place       Running on Empty by Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, CA

1st Honorable Mention     Field Trip by Linda Toren, West Point, CA

2nd Honorable Mention   Awaiting the Tooth Fairy by Nancy Haskett, Modesto, CA

Category: Inheritances

1st Place     Inheritance  by Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, CA

2nd Place   Last Rose  by Kate Aver Avraham, Santa Cruz, CA

3rd Place     Elegy to an Alcoholic by Linda Toren, West Point, CA

Honorable Mention     Whose Hands   by Laura Bayless, Carmel Valley, CA

Poetry on Sunday @ Carnegie

Our Poetry on Sunday quarterly reading series at Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock continues on February 25th at 2 pm in the Gemperle Gallery–click here or on the image at right to view the PDF flyer.

Featured readers for the February reading:

Ann Williams Bailey has been a part of the Central Valley writing community since the early 1970’s, collaborating with other writers, artists, and various creative organizations. She has been an enthusiastic participant in writers’ groups, small presses, ekphrastic shows, writing retreats, and, for ten years, spoken word performances in collaboration with Stockton’s New Dance Company, both locally and in the Bay Area, including the San Francisco Legion of Honor. Given the option, she prefers to paint portraits and write landscapes.

A native Californian, Brian Wright is a retired high school English teacher who divides his time between the Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada. His poems appear in More Than Soil, More Than Sky: The Modesto Poets and several local publications including 4 More. He is active in The Healing Power of Writing, a Bay Area Writer’s group comprised of cancer survivors and caregivers.

Marisol Baca is the author of Tremor from Three Mile Harbor Press. She has been published in Narrative Northeast, Riverlit, Shadowed: An Anthology of Women Writers, and others. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Cornell University, where she won the Robert Chasen Poetry award. Currently, Marisol is an English professor at Fresno City College.

Jan 29

Aileen Jaffa Young Poets Contest Now Open

This contest is offered as a means of encouraging young writers throughout Stanislaus County and as a way to remember poet Aileen Jaffa, the founding President of the Poets of the San Joaquin and member of the Modesto Branch of the National League of American Pen Women.

Any student enrolled in a Stanislaus County school, grades K through 12, is eligible. Read the full description and download the entry form on the contest page.

Second Tuesday @ Barkin’ Dog

Join us for the February Barkin’ Dog reading on Feb. 13 at 6:00 at the Barkin’ Dog Grill in downtown Modesto. We have two great featured readers, including Tina Curiel Allen, and our most excellent open mic to look forward to.

Poetry Out Loud County Finals

MoSt is coordinating the county competiton of the Poetry Out Loud contest, a national recitation contest for high school students. The county competition will be held at MJC on Feb. 7 at 6:00. If you are interested in participating as a judge or just coming to see these talented students perform amazing poetry, please email us at info@mostpoetry.org.