The 2016 Richard Wilbur Award

 

 

frangible

[fran-juh-buh l]

adjective

1.

easily broken; breakable

I'm thrilled to announce that eminent poet and translator, Dick Davis, has chosen my manuscript, The Frangible Hour, as the winner of the 2016 Richard Wilbur Award. 

This is my third full-length collection of poetry, and it will be published by the University of Evansville Press later this year.

This prestigious award is named for Pulitzer Prize winner and former poet laureate of the United States, Richard Wilbur. I was honored and fortunate to meet Mr. Wilbur nearly ten years ago at a literary festival in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and then, along with dozens of poets at the 2011 West Chester University Poetry Conference, joined in to celebrate his 90th birthday. 

I would like to extend my gratitude to members of the Eratosphere poetry forum and to the Greenwood Poets, in particular Julie Sih, Tim Murphy and Jon Torell, for their generous critiques and valued suggestions on some of the poems included in The Frangible Hour.

Also, for their written endorsements, my heartfelt thanks to distinguished poets Rhina P. Espaillat, R.S. (Sam) Gwynn, Timothy Steele, Richard Wakefield and Deborah Warren.

Finally, I deeply appreciate the kindness of Scottish artist Ruth Addinall, who, along with Rob Griffith and his wonderful team at Evansville University, coordinated a professional photo shoot of one of her paintings, whose image will grace the cover of The Frangible Hour.