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
