Hessler Street Poetry Winners!

On May 11, poets read their poems for the Hessler Street Fair poetry contest at Mac's Backs. After a great deal of discussion and analysis by the distinguished team of judges(*), the 2011 Hessler Poetry Contest winners were announced:

First place: Vladimir Swirynsky, for "Already the Sky on Bent Knees"

Second place: Shelley Chernin, for "Rise and Shine"

Third place: Andrew Line, for "Catalyst (in memorium)"

Honorable mentions went to T.M. Göttl, for "On the Feast of Snow and Shadow," and Michael Bernstein, for "What it Does."

(official list here).

You can read all the poems in the 2011 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest book, available at the Hessler booth at the Fair, May 21 & 22, or available for purchase at Mac's.

If you missed the reading at Mac's, don't be blue: you've got another chance. On Sunday the winners will read from the stage at the Hessler Street Fair, simulcast on WRUW at 91.1 FM on the radio, and also on the internet, and webcast at hesslerstreetfair.org.

• A YouTube video of Joshua Gage announcing the winners
• YouTuybe video of Vladimir Swirynsky reading his poem
• YouToob video of Shelley Chernin reading her poem
• YooTuue video of Andrew Line reading his poem
• Some photos from the reading:

MC Joshua Gage gets the program moving

The winners: Left to right: Andrew Line, Shelley Chernin, Vladimir Swirynsky

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*judged by the winners of last year's Hessler contest: Mary Turzillo, Jill Riga, and me.