Dear Readers & Writers;
2010 was a great year for Amsterdam Press. In this third year for the Flip Kelly Poetry Prize, judge Amy L. Sargent had more than 60 entries to peruse, making her decision very difficult.
Ultimately, all of us here agree that Amy has fabulous taste.
The winning chapbook for the Flip Kelly Poetry Prize from 2010 "Bedtime Stories" by Joshua Gage. He will receive an honorarium of $200 upon publication with our Gob Pile Chapbook Series. The following is a poem from his manuscript:
A Mother Speaks
Here's the truth of it. There was no witch,no house of gingerbread, no trail of crumbs.No, there was only us, the woods, and the gnawof cold. Your father was the first to slipinto the shadows stretching from the trees.The dark would echo with your screams and wehungered. Some bones hold only so much meatbut at least we didn't starve. The sun returnedand soon the days were warm, and we forgotthe night until it crept into our cornersand the wind wound round the house. We huddled closeto the oven’s warmth, but even fires go out:There was no wood, no coal, no food, untilyour fingers grew as thin as chicken bones.I watched you shiver in your cribs, carriedback to when I held you in my bellyswollen as the moon. I can ignorethe breath in sleep that isn't there, scrub awaythe blood. But now I feel you, children,pressing at my ribs like prisonersfingering the bars of their cage.
Judge Amy Sargent recognized three finalists, in no specific order.
“Dreaming of Lemon Trees” by Francis DiClemente
“Jewel” by Ellen La Fleche
“Jewel” by Ellen La Fleche
“On the Production of Distance” by Jesse Nathan
This year, our editorial staff also chose two manuscripts to receive an Editors’ Choice Honor. We have yet to determine a name for this honor, but we'll announcing it anyway. These two manuscripts will also receive offers of publication. They are:
“Alphabetica: The Other Side of Love” by Cedrick Mendoza-Tolentino
“Life Models” by Andrew Rihn
Every poet who entered the contest will receive a year’s subscription to Plain Spoke, the literary magazine project published by Amsterdam Press and a snail-mail announcement including this same information.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who supports our literary endeavors,
The Editorial Staff at Amsterdam Press
Questions, concerns, and comments can be directed to editor-AT-amsterdampress.net
