Poets' Roundtable of Arkansas

Senior Division Winners from Sacred Heart Catholic School in Morrilton
receive their certificates from PRA Membership Chair Rick Houston

____________________________________

____________________________________

2024  Poetry Day

• 2024  Poetry Day Winners

1. Sybil Nash Abrams Award

Sponsor: Sybil Nash Abrams Trust
(9 entries) Judge: Ken Hada, East Central University, Ada, OK
1st Place: Suzanne Underwood Rhodes – Beloved Enemies
2nd Place: Elizabeth Dail – Beating of Our Steps
3rd Place: Cathy Moran – Women designing the events
1st HM: Laura Bridges – City in Flames
2nd HM: Fay Guinn – Remember the Sultana
3rd HM: Donna Smith – The Little Rock Crisis
—

2. Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni Award

Sponsor: Larry and Desiree Witherspoon
(23 entries) Judge: Larry and Desiree Witherspoon
1st Place: Janice Canerdy – Ode to Bananas
2nd Place: Marilyn Joyner – Finding Happiness
3rd Place: Jerri Hardesty – Bearing Fruit
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – What You Think You Know
2nd HM: Sara Gipson – Garden Gems
3rd HM: Mike Wahl – Questionable Quest

3. Three Little Lines Award

Sponsor: Fay Guinn
(22 entries) Judge: Fay Guinn
1st Place: Donna Geise – Cicadas perform
2nd Place: Elizabeth Dail – grandaddy long legs
3rd Place: John McPherson – monarchs feasting
1st HM: Lori Anne Goetz – stealthy crow lurks near
2nd HM: Dennis Patton – pink cherry blossoms
3rd HM: Sara Gipson – Chirping crickets chant

4. Roundtable Poets of Hot Springs Award

Sponsor: Roundtable Poets of Hot Springs
(21 entries) Judge: Roundtable Poets of Hot Springs
1st Place: John McPherson – A Spring Like No Other
2nd Place: Alyssa Darby – My Favorite Season Of Them All
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – Spring Round Up
1st HM: Mark Hudson – A Springtime Picnic
2nd HM: Dr. Emory D. Jones– Playful Spring: A Kyreille
3rd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Celebrating Spring

5. Couchwood Award

Sponsor: Pat Laster
(12 entries) Judge: Pat Laster
1st Place: Russell H. Strauss – Messy Parting
2nd Place: Dennis Patton – A Dream in Spring
3rd Place: Lydia Cheatham – Healing
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – I’m Looking For Something, You See
2nd HM: John McPherson – Taking Flight
3rd HM: Fay Guinn – Miracle Man

6. Nevill Saylor Memorial Award

Sponsor: John Crawford
(14 entries) Judge: John Crawford
1st Place: Sara Gipson – The Fisherman’s Wish
2nd Place: Marilyn Joyner – My Refuge
3rd Place: Pat Laster – “Dumb as a Rock”? NOT!
1st HM: Russell H. Strauss – Unsuccessful Performance Before My Wife
2nd HM: Alyssa Darby – I Climb Still
3rd HM: Mike Wahl – Mt. Everest

7. Banner Mountain Girl Award

Sponsor: Family of Freeda Baker Nichols
(25 entries) Judge: Ann Carolyn Cates
1st Place: Marilyn Joyner – The Porch
2nd Place: Sara Gipson – Jasmine
3rd Place: Dr. Emory D. Jones – The Old Homeplace
1st HM: Donna Geise – Wax Wrapper
2nd HM: Elizabeth Dail – A Few Dents and Stains
3rd HM: Nancy M. LaChance – Daffodil Longing

8. Baker Nichols Award

Sponsor: Family of Freeda Baker Nichols
(25 entries) Judge: Pat Laster
1st Place: Jerri Hardesty – In America
2nd Place: Sara Gipson – American Praised in Tomes
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – Greatness of America
1st HM: Janice Freytag – Mine
2nd HM: Alyssa Darby – No Countries Can Contest

9. Opal Jane & Harry O’Neal Memorial Award

Sponsor: Ben H. O’Neal
(37 entries) Judge: Marie Allison
1st Place: Marilyn Joyner – Our Happy Place
2nd Place: Fay Guinn – Where I’m From
3rd Place: Whitney Smith-Knight – True Blue
1st HM: Janice Canerdy – Time Spent in the Attic
2nd HM: Ann Carolyn Cates – All Hearts Ache
3rd HM: Russell H. Strauss – City Lovers

10. Opal Jane & Harry O’Neal Humor Award

Sponsor: Ben H. O’Neal
(17 entries) Judge: Cathy Moran
1st Place: Russell H. Strauss – Advice to My Sanitation Shy Son
2nd Place: Marilyn Joyner – Kitchen Help
3rd Place: Alyssa Darby – Ripe and Overdue
1st HM: Gail Denham – Fix It Time…Honey Did…
2nd HM: Ann Carolyn Cates – Grandparents on the Move
3rd HM: Tanya Whitney – Just Go With The Flow

11. Sharp Award

Sponsor: Cathy Moran
(32 entries) Judge: Cathy Moran
1st Place: Donna Geise – Eye of the Scissors
2nd Place: Alyssa Darby– The Step
3rd Place: Sara Gipson – Balance
1st HM: Russell H. Strauss – Listening for Mail
2nd HM: Stephanie DuPont – Yesterday
3rd HM: Bonnie Clark – The Pitcher

12. Arts & Crackers Award

Sponsor: Alyssa Darby
(21 entries) Judge: Alyssa Darby
1st Place: Janice Freytag – Mrs. Wyatt’s Mistake
2nd Place: Dr. Emory D. Jones – Poet Limerick
3rd Place: Sara Gipson – Composing a Poem
1st HM: Jerri Hardesty – Not Fair

13. L. C. Bridges Memorial Award

Sponsor: Pat Bridges
(26 entries) Judge: Pat Bridges
1st Place: Elizabeth Dail – Monday Morning Glories
2nd Place: Nancy M. LaChance – Space
3rd Place: Pat Laster – I’ve Lost Baby Jesus!
1st HM: Sara Gipson – My Daily Spring
2nd HM: Alyssa Darby – His Love
3rd HM: Dr. Emory D. Jones – Divine Sculpture

14. Tom J. Smith Memorial Award

Sponsor: Donna Smith
(25 entries) Judge: Donna Smith
1st Place: Marilyn Joyner – A Long Love
2nd Place: Pat Durmon – Loving in New Ways
3rd Place: Sara Gipson – Wedding Gift
1st HM: Donna Nelson – He Held Her Hand
2nd HM: Trina Lee – FeFe
3rd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Home for Christmas

15. Hazel J. Alexander Memorial

Sponsor: Donna Smith
(18 entries) Judge: Donna Smith
1st Place: Marilyn Joyner – Just A Smile
2nd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Ice Cream Smiles
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – Detention
1st HM: Elizabeth Dail – A Trade
2nd HM: Lorraine Jeffery – A Straight Line
3rd HM: Mark Hudson – City Smile

16. Humor Award

Sponsor: Dennis Patton
(32 entries) Judge: Dennis Patton
1st Place: J. B. Hoffsommer – Fast Food
2nd Place: Nancy M. LaChance – Ready for the Funny Farm
3rd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Out-N-In
1st HM: Gail Denham – The Upper Berth
2nd HM: Mike Wahl– All in the Family
3rd HM: Marilyn Joyner – A Rooster Named Trouble

17. Saddle and Spurs Award

Sponsor: John McPherson
(15 entries) Judge: John McPherson
1st Place: Cathy Moran – Our western expansion
2nd Place: Dr. Emory D. Jones – Still Cowboys
3rd Place: Marilyn Joyner – A Cowboy
1st HM: Fay Guinn – The Last Goodbye, 1865
2nd HM: Mike Wahl – Advancing Westward
3rd HM: Dennis Patton – Why We Love the West

18. Natures Wonders

Sponsor: Two Rivers Poets of Ft. Smith
(32 entries) Judge: Mary Sangster
1st Place: Donna Geise – The Eagle
2nd Place: Daniel Moreschi – Serengeti Storm
3rd Place: Crystie Cook – Stellar Jays Sweep the Canyon
1st HM: John Crawford – Spring Green Boy
2nd HM: John McPherson – Such Wonder (Makes Me Feel Like a Stray Dog at the
Kennel Club Show)
3rd HM: Pat Durmon – Pileated Woodpecker

19. Jim Barton Memorial Award

Sponsor: South Arkansas Poets of the Pines
(20 entries) Judge: South Arkansas Poets of the Pines
1st Place: Jerri Hardesty – Pinesong
2nd Place: Cathy Moran – A quiet place to listen
3rd Place: John McPherson – The Wind and the Pines
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – Unwind
2nd HM: Elizabeth Dail – Simpler Times
3rd HM: Sara Gipson – Winter Winds in the Pines

20. That’s Life Award

Sponsor: Laura Bridges
(26 entries) Judge: Laura Bridges
1st Place: Fay Guinn – The Best Gift
2nd Place: Terrie Jacks – Tears and Laughter
3rd Place: Cathy Moran – Looking at the Water Drops
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – My Feelings, It Seems, Have Sprung a Leak
2nd HM: Whitney Smith-Knight – Tear Drops
3rd HM: Marilyn Joyner – One Little Teardrop

21. Cathy Parker Memorial Award

Sponsor: Saline County Branch of PRA
(37 entries) Judge: Gail Denham
1st Place: Pat Laster – At The Edge Of A Field
2nd Place: Lori Anne Goetz – Scorcher
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – Beets and Cabbage
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – Before You’re to None
2nd HM: Donna Geise – The Funeral
3rd HM: Donna Smith – Reflections

22. Florence Gibbs Memorial Award

Sponsor: Anna Noack
(36 entries) Judge: Lori Goetz
1st Place: Crystie Cook – More Starlings Than Angels
2nd Place: Janice Freytag – The Brothers Grimm
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – River Secrets
1st HM: Sara Gipson – stealthy crow lurks near
2nd HM: LaDeana Mullinix – Missionaries
3rd HM: Dennis Patton – Through Summer Windows

23. Betty Heidelberger Memorial Award

Sponsor: Anna Noack
(37 entries) Judge: Karen Moulton
1st Place: Jerri Hardesty – Tuesday Tea
2nd Place: Laura Bridges – There Goes the Neighborhood
3rd Place: Pat Laster – Atlantic Beach
1st HM: Cathy Moran – Acne Assault
2nd HM: Daniel Moreschi– Glimmers in the Gloom
3rd HM: Stephanie Dupont – Steam

24. Miriam S. Strauss Memorial Award

Sponsor: Russell H. Straus
(21 entries) Judge: Russell H. Straus
1st Place: Cathy Moran – A line at a time
2nd Place: Crystie Cook – Second Month of School
3rd Place: Alyssa Darby – FRACTIONS
1st HM: Terrie Jacks – Ode to My Kindergarten Teacher
2nd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Wrong Side of the Desk
3rd HM: LaDeana Mullinix – For My Young Student Afraid He Learns Too Slowly

25. The Golden Shovel Award

Sponsor: Sandra Soli
(18 entries) Judge: Jerri Hardesty
1st Place: Russell H. Strauss – Visions of a Poetic Child
2nd Place: Janice Freytag – Sunday Reading
3rd Place: Cathy Moran – Poetry as my Lover
1st HM: Sara Gipson – When the Dance was Over
2nd HM: John McPherson – On The Death Of A Single Waxwing
3rd HM: Dennis Patton – My Golden Shovel

26. Gin Creek Poets Award

Sponsor: Gin Creek Poets
(18 entries) Judge: Gin Creek Poets
1st Place: Fay Guinn – I Am A Tropical Storm
2nd Place: Jerri Hardesty – The Cat’s Meow
3rd Place: Donna Geise – Sewn Again
1st HM: Elizabeth Dail – Love is a Knife
2nd HM: Russell H. Strauss – Sunset Cloud

27. Imagination Station

Sponsor: Lydia Cheatham
(20 entries) Judge: Lydia Cheatham
1st Place: Julia Keefer – fine, ban my books
2nd Place: Alyssa Darby – What Holds These Magic Things?
3rd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Used People
1st HM: Laura Bridges – Museums of Books…or Libraries
2nd HM: Elizabeth Dail – The Library
3rd HM: Dennis Patton – Where Did You Find That Book?

28. Give It A Try Award

Sponsor: Terrie Jacks
(29 entries) Judge: Terrie Jacks
1st Place: Donna Smith– Be Still
2nd Place: Laura Bridges – Sitting Atop Mount Nebo
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Visitor Beware
1st HM: Janice Canerdy – Advice for All
2nd HM: Nancy M. LaChance – May the Muse Be With You
3rd HM: Terry Jude Miller – It’s All My Fault

29. Write Like Ogden Nash Award

Sponsor: Nancy M. LaChance
(26 entries) Judge: Nancy M. LaChance
1st Place: Dennis Patton– Namely Lamely
2nd Place: Janice Freytag – The Golden Rule
3rd Place: Ann Carolyn Cates – Translating Fractured English
1st HM: J. B. Hoffsommer – Disconfidious
2nd HM: Whitney Smith-Knight – The Symphony
3rd HM: Crystie Cook – Wait in Line, Ma’am

30. Elsie Larson Memorial Award

Sponsor: Gail Denham
(14 entries) Judge: Gail Denham
1st Place: Janice Freytag – Please Wait While We Confirm You Are Human
2nd Place: Fay Guinn – Things That Interfere
3rd Place: Terri Jacks – Vanquish the Thwarts, Save the Meal
1st HM: Ann Carolyn Cates – Wild Game Cookout
2nd HM: Whitney Smith-Knight – Bubble Guts
3rd HM: Pat Laster – The Last Word

31. Mattie Campbell’s Ozark Award

Sponsor: Joan Barrett Roberts
(16 entries) Judge: Joan Barrett Roberts
1st Place: Sara Gipson – Ode to a Rocking Chair
2nd Place: Alyssa Darby – Mountain Music
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – A Swinging Bridge Adventure
1st HM: Russell H. Strauss – The Spirit and Spirits of Border Annie
2nd HM: Pat Laster – Under the Influence of Eureka Springs
3rd HM: Fay Guinn – Driving Down the Pig Trail

• 2024 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners (PDF)

University of Central Arkansas Associate Professor, Sandy Longhorn, shared her thoughts on writing place-based poetry with members.

PRA President John McPherson after presenting Greg Lathrop of Lathrop Investment Management Corporation with a plaque of recognition for his efforts in assisting PRA to promote poetry in Arkansas.

• Pat Laster Collegiate Poetry Contest

Sponsor: Lydia Cheatham | Judge: Donna Smith
1st Place: Jordan Self for “White Paint” — University of Arkansas at Monticello
2nd Place: Ayden Pritchard for “Lives” — Harding University
3rd Place: Michelle Dewinta Johnston for “Verses of the Universes” — Hendrix College
1st HM: Elliott Coombes for “Piety” — Harding University
2nd HM: Joseph Huffaker for “january” — Harding University
3rd HM: Mercedes McCool for “Jonesing” — University of Arkansas at Monticello

2023 Winners

• 2023 Poetry Day Winners

1. Sybil Nash Abrams Award

Sponsor: Sybil Nash Abrams Trust
(6 entries) Judge: Kathy Gerstorff, Gas City, IN
1st Place: Alyssa Darby – HISTORY IN THE SHADOWS
2nd Place: Fay Guinn – MOUNTAIN OF LOVE
3rd Place: Elizabeth Dail – In the Shadow of Old Naked Joe
1st HM: Dennis Patton – The Ozarks, The Sincoit Land
2nd HM: Donna Smith – More Than a Mountain – Petit Jean
3rd HM: John McPherson – Of Mountains and Men

2. Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni Award

Sponsor: Larry Witherspoon
(24 entries) Judge: Larry Witherspoon, Little Rock, AR
1st Place: Sarah Gipson – Reflections of Truth
2nd Place: Donna Geise – Beveled
3rd Place: Jerri Hardesty – Regrets
1st HM: Pat Durmon – Brokenness
2nd HM: Donna Nelson – Mirrors Never Lie
3rd HM: Betty Jo Middleton – A Winter Reflection

3. 3 Little Lines

Sponsor: Fay Guinn
(25 entries) Judge: Fay Smalling Guinn, Jonesboro, AR
1st Place: Cathy Moran – That plaid butterfly
2nd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Wrens pluck crumbs from snow
3rd Place: Ann Carolyn Cates – white crepe myrtle bush
1st HM: Elizabeth Dail – the mountains catch fire
2nd HM: Rita Aiken Moritz – Trout leap for insects
3rd HM: Marilyn Joyner – Daffodils swaying

4. Rhymed Inspirational

Sponsor: Roundtable Poets of Hot Springs
(22 entries) Judge: Roundtable Poets of Hot Springs, Hot Springs, AR
1st Place: Elizabeth Dail – Through a Bullhorn
2nd Place: Cathy Moran – Some musings on my mother
3rd Place: Mike Wahl – Nightmare
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – SUCH A LIFE
2nd HM: John McPherson – A Wedding Prayer
3rd HM: Fay Guinn – BLIND FAITH

5. Banner Mountain Girl Award

Sponsor: Family of Freeda Baker Nichols
(26 entries) Judge: Rhonda Roberts, Searcy, AR
1st Place: Donna Geise – There was Nothing Memorable or Special
2nd Place: Laura Bridges – Where I am From
3rd Place: Marilyn Joyner – Back Home
1st HM: Rita Aiken Moritz – Summer Days and Lemonade
2nd HM: Alyssa Darby – TO HAVE THIS ALL AGAIN
3rd HM: Elizabeth Dail – Mud Pies and Cobwebs

6. 3 More Little Lines

Sponsor: Faye Smalling Guinn
(25 entries) Judge: Fay Smalling Guinn, Jonesboro, AR
1st Place: Jerri Hardesty – I saw your heartbeat
2nd Place: Lori Anne Goetz – sun’s up and top’s down
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – As fans swarmed like moths
1st HM: Alyssa Darby – a thunderous voice
2nd HM: Gloria Williams Tran – Time rushes by me
3rd HM: Lorraine Jeffery – Gordon didn’t come

7. Couchwood Award

Sponsor: Pat Laster
(16 entries) Judge: Pat Laster, Benton, AR
1st Place: John McPherson – An Ode to John Masefield
2nd Place: Fay Guinn – DEAR BILLY COLLINS
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Ode to Mandalay
1st HM: Cathy Moran – Dear Emily
2nd HM: Gail Denham – Ode to Billy Collins
3rd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Ode to Whitman 2

8. The Novice

Sponsor: Lydia Cheatham
(1 entry) Judge: Lydia Cheatham, Benton, AR
1st Place: Claudia Kessell – On Putting a Child To Bed

9. Opal Jane & Harry O’Neal Memorial Award

Sponsor: Ben O’Neal III
(40 entries) Judge: Pat Durmon, Norfork, AR
1st Place: Ian McPherson – cahokia!
2nd Place: Dennis Patton – A Knock at the Door
3rd Place: Laura Bridges – Rosa and Buses
1st HM: Janice L. Freytag – The Locust War
2nd HM: Cathy Moran – One of the commoners
3rd HM: Dr. Emory D. Jones – MORNING MIRACLE

10. Opal Jane & Harry O’Neal Humor Award

Sponsor: Ben O’Neal III
(27 entries) Judge: Dorothy Hatfield, Beebe, AR
1st Place: Alyssa Darby – MY CHILD WITH NO FILTER
2nd Place: Jerri Hardesty – Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
3rd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Hawaii Tries to Belong
1st HM: Dennis Patton – Hunting Near the Big Woods
2nd HM: Russell H. Strauss – Confronting My Housekeeper
3rd HM: Sara Gipson – Bugged by a Hug

11. Sharp Award

Sponsor: Cathy Moran
(38 entries) Judge: Cathy Moran, Little Rock, AR
1st Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Hoo-doo
2nd Place: Alyssa Darby – ON DISPLAY
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – The Last Saturday of the Month
1st HM: Tanya Whitney – Building a Tower
2nd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Cleaning House
3rd HM: Janice L. Freytag – The Taper

12. Former Poets Remembrance

Sponsor: Baxter County Poets Association
(27 entries) Judge: Debra Dail, Norfork, AR
1st Place: John McPherson – Up in Smoke
2nd Place: Janice L. Freytag – The Company of Sparrows
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – The Verbs of Spring
1st HM: Terry Jude Miller – I don’t know how it happened
2nd HM: Sara Gipson – Moment in the Sun
3rd HM: Donna Geise – Edit

13. L.C. Bridges Memorial Award

Sponsor: Pat Bridges
(29 entries) Judge: Pat Bridges, Hot Springs, AR
1st Place: Pat Durmon – Waiting in a Hospice Room
2nd Place: Terry Jude Miller – it comes down to two things
3rd Place: Lori Anne Goetz – To the Sparrows Fighting at My Feeder
1st HM: John W. Crawford – THE WEDDING AT CANA
2nd HM: John A. McPherson – A Bent Reed
3rd HM: Cathy Moran – It depends on where I am

14. Tom J. Smith Memorial Award

Sponsor: Donna Smith
(21 entries) Judge: Donna Smith, Fayetteville, AR
1st Place: Christian Shute – My Father
2nd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Gardener
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Dad: The Baldheaded Truth
1st HM: Dennis Patton – Substitute
2nd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Little Princess
3rd HM: Elizabeth Dail – A Fine Example

15. Jane West Award

Sponsor: Gail Denham
(25 entries) Judge: Gail Denham, Sunriver, OR
1st Place: LaDeana Mullinix – A Produce Aisle Waltz
2nd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Geometry Class Before Lunch
3rd Place: Mark Hudson – Tom’s Bike Ride in Chicago
1st HM: Mike Wahl – Let’s Make a Deal
2nd HM: Dr. Emory D. Jones – GOOD TASTE IN PIRATE
3rd HM: Deena M. Hardin – Deus ex machina

16. Humor Award

Sponsor: Dennis Patton
(33 entries) Judge: Dennis Patton, Alexander, AR
1st Place: Ann Carolyn Cates – FANCY FOOT WORK
2nd Place: Mike Wahl – Family Reunion
3rd Place: Tanya Whitney – Sweaty Socks
1st HM: Marilyn Joyner – The Donkey
2nd HM: Alyssa Darby – I COULDN’T HOLD IT IN
3rd HM: Russell H. Strauss – Reunion on Zoom, 2020

17. “It Was A Clarifying Moment” Award

Sponsor: Rita Goodgame
(30 entries) Judge: Donna Nelson, Kensett, AR
1st Place: Cathy Moran – Holding on to a shining moment
2nd Place: Marilyn Joyner – Bouncing Back
3rd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – I’d seen them before –
1st HM: John W. Crawford – Races Still to Run
2nd HM: Laura Bridges – They Were Brave
3rd HM: Gail Denham – Cookie’s Stew Near Done Me In

18. Nature’s Wonders

Sponsor: Two Rivers Poets of Ft. Smith
(36 entries) Judge: Mary Sangster, Ft. Smith, AR
1st Place: Alyssa Darby – HOW COULD I HELP BUT PAUSE
2nd Place: Terry Jude Miller – the lake and light
3rd Place: Fay Guinn – HUMMINGBIRD GREEN
1st HM: Janice L. Freytag – Friday Evening Prayer
2nd HM: Laura Bridges – Nature’s Stasis
3rd HM: Cathy Moran – Looking at the beginnings again

19. Jim Barton Memorial Award

Sponsor: South Arkansas Poets of the Pines
(25 entries) Judge: South Arkansas Poets of the Pines, El Dorado, AR
1st Place: Larry Witherspoon – The Pine
2nd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Ponderosa Pines
3rd Place: Fay Guinn – WORSHIP in the WOODS
1st HM: Cathy Moran – Savoring the scent of the pines
2nd HM: Mike Wahl – A Noted Anomaly
3rd HM: Janice L. Freytag – If the Blackbird Disappeared

20. That’s Life Award

Sponsor: Laura Bridges
(28 entries) Judge: Laura Bridges, Hot Springs, AR
1st Place: Lori Anne Goetz – A Reflection on the REDress Project
2nd Place: Tanya Whitney – Road Rage
3rd Place: Cathy Moran – Glittering Saturday Night
1st HM: Sara Gipson – Her Vermillion Purse
2nd HM: Janice L. Freytag – Ascent
3rd HM: Donna Smith – Cardinals

21. June Pruitt Award

Sponsor: Saline County Branch
(24 entries) Judge: Faye Adams, Cherokee Village, AR
1st Place: Dennis Patton – Poor Dirt Track Racecar Drivers
2nd Place: Rita Aiken Moritz – There’s So Much More
3rd Place: Janice Canerdy – Diet? I’ll Think About That Later
1st HM: John A. McPherson – Saint Joan’s Lament
2nd HM: Janice L. Freytag – Morning’s Evidence
3rd HM: NONE

22. Florence Gibbs Memorial Award

Sponsor: Anna Noack
(39 entries) Judge: John McPherson, Searcy, AR
1st Place: Pat Durmon – A Trip to the Bronx
2nd Place: Marilyn Joyner – Going Home
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Regarding Your Poetry
1st HM: Gail Denham – Agreeable Irene
2nd HM: John W. Crawford – Yellow Chrysanthemums
3rd HM: Teresa H. Klepac – Shattered Memories

23. Betty Heidelberger Memorial Fund

Sponsor: Anna Noack
(37 entries) Judge: Laticia Harris, Searcy, AR
1st Place: Daniel Moreschi – Rising from a River Bed
2nd Place: Gloria Williams Tran – GARDEN VARIETIES
3rd Place: Laura Bridges – What You Recall
1st HM: Terry Jude Miller – I feel I’m a synonym
2nd HM: Fred Ablondi – Upon Retiring
3rd HM: Janice L. Freytag – Echoes

24. Miriam S. Strauss Memorial Award

Sponsor: Russell H. Strauss
(24 entries) Judge: Russell H. Strauss, Memphis, TN
1st Place: Deena M. Hardin – Condado Brazos de Dios, Tejas
2nd Place: Nancy Cook – Waiting Out the Storm in Biloxi
3rd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – Ladies League of LaPorte, Texas
1st HM: Terry Jude Miller – this poem is a skimmed stone
2nd HM: Teresa H. Klepac – Before the Flood: April 1993
3rd HM: Jerri Hardesty – El Paso

25. The Golden Shovel Award

Sponsor: Sandra Soli
(24 entries) Judge: Sandra Soli, Edmond, OK
1st Place: Cathy Moran – Death next to the earth
2nd Place: Gail Denham – Creation
3rd Place: Donna Geise – So Much
1st HM: Janice L. Freytag – Comic Books on Sunday
2nd HM: Terry Jude Miller – Untitled (from The Sound of Light by Victoria Chang)
3rd HM: Patricia Laster – THE SEARCH

26. Gin Creek Poets Award

Sponsor: Gin Creek Poets
(20 entries) Judge: Gin Creek Poets, Searcy, AR
1st Place: Marilyn Joyner – O Teacher! My Teacher!
2nd Place: Lorraine Jeffery – The Chicken
3rd Place: Russell H. Strauss – Stopping by My Desk after Sixth Period English
1st HM: Fred Ablondi – The Love Song of J. Waffle House Patron
2nd HM: Jerri Hardesty – Just Sayin’
3rd HM: Sara Gipson – A Secret Swim on a Summer Day

27. Baker Nichols Award

Sponsor: Family of Freeda Baker Nichols
(7 entries) Judge: Pat Laster, Benton, AR
1st Place: Alyssa Darby – THIS GOLDEN LAND
2nd Place: Sara Gipson – Where Art May Speak
3rd Place: Dennis Patton – Greatness of Ameria
1st HM: Janice L. Freytag – Dearest in My Heart
2nd HM: Jerri Hardesty – In America
3rd HM: Ann Carolyn Cates – MY PATRIOTIC HEART

28. The Hiking Poet’s Award

Sponsor: Lori Goetz
(8 entries) Judge: Lori Goetz, Germantown, TN
1st Place: Russell H. Strauss – October on the Old Military Road
2nd Place: Jerri Hardesty – History Leaves a Mark
3rd Place: Marilyn Joyner – The Hiking Brothers
1st HM: Sara Gipson – Where Old Miliary Road Leads
2nd HM: None
3rd HM: None

29. Grands

Sponsor: Dr. Emory D. Jones
(20 entries) Judge: Nancy LaChance, Lebanon, MO
1st Place: Sara Gipson – Nanna Jane and Poppy Jim
2nd Place: Elizabeth Dail – A Grandparent’s Heart
3rd Place: Christian Shute – Goober Kisses
1st HM: Fay Guinn – NEGOTIATION
2nd HM: Russell H. Strauss – Papa’s Candles
3rd HM: Marilyn Joyner – The Little Visitor

30. Hazel J. Alexander Memorial

Sponsor: Donna Smith
(25 entries) Judge: Donna Smith, Fayetteville, AR
1st Place: Cathy Moran – A lesson passed on
2nd Place: Nick Sweet – Golden Rulers
3rd Place: Rita Aiken Moritz – People Watching at the Airport
1st HM: Marilyn Joyner – A Bit of Kindness
2nd HM: Christian Shute – Together
3rd HM: Ann Carolyn Cates – COMPASSION FOR OTHERS

Sybil Nash Abrams Contest Winners (L to R)

Alyssa Darby – 1st Place | Fay Smalling Guinn – 2nd Place | Elizabeth Dail – 3rd Place (not present) | Dennis Patton – 1st Honorable Mention | Donna Smith – 2nd Honorble Mention (not present) | John McPherson – 3rd Honorable Mention

Frieda Patton, Treasurer, presenting the Merit Award to John McPherson, President

• 2023 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners

• • 2023 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners (pdf)

    2023 Student Winners and Poet Laureate Suzanne Underwood Rhodes Left to Right Front Row Alyssa Howell – Harding Stedler Memorial Junior Division – 1st Place Belle Mentgen – Harding Stedler Memorial Senior Division – 2nd Place Clara Principe – Harding Stedler Memorial Senior Division – 2nd Honorable Mention Left to Right Back Row Dabney Lovins – Harding Stedler Memorial Junior Divisoin – 3rd Honorable Mention Josiah Boone – Harding Stedler Memorial Senior Division – 1st Place Madison Porter – Pat Laster Collegiate Poetry Contest – 2nd Place Gabrielle Thurman – Pat Laster Collegiate Poetry Contest – 1st Place Suzanne Underwood Rhodes – AR Poet Laureate Verity Callahan – Pat Laster Collegiate Poetry Contest – 3rd Place Makenna Kutzschebauch – Harding Stedler Memorial Senior Division – 3rd Honorable Mention Leah Mouton – Harding Stedler Memorial Junior Division – 2nd Place

2022 Winners

• 2022 Poetry Day Contest Winners

  • 2022 Poetry Day Contest Winners (pdf)

• 2022 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners

  2022 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners (pdf)

2021 Winners

• • 2021 Poetry Day Contest Winners

  • 2021 Poetry Day Contest Winners (pdf)

• 2021 NFSPS Contests
• 2021 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners
• 2021 Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest Winners – Press Release
• 2021 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Student Winners (some pictures unavailable) 
  

2020 Winners

• 2020 Poetry Day Contest Winners
• 2020 Poetry Day Sybil Nash Abrams Contest Winners
  

  Charles Southerland – First Place Sybil Nash Abrams Contest

  (picture unavailable)

• 2020 Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas Merit Award Recipient
  

• 2020 NFSPS Winners
• 2020 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners
• 2020 NFSPS-CUP Winner – Press Release
• 2020 Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest Winners – Press Release
• 2020 Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest Winners
  
• 2020 Sybil Nash Abrams Student Contests Winners

• Pictures absent are:

  Katherine Kandlbinder 2020 SR Division 2nd place Kate Moellers 2020 SR Division 3rd place Sarah Meeks 2020 SR Division 1st HM Lorah Chudy 2020 SR Division 2nd HM Ted Torrey 2020 SR Division 3rd HM Molly Chosich 2020 JR Division 1st place Hope Webb 2020 JR Division 2nd place Rachel Kinney 2020 JR Division 2nd HM

2019 Winners

• 2019 Poetry Day Contest Winners
  

• 2019 NFSPS Winners
• 2019 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners
• 2019 Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest Winners – Press Release

• 2019 Jeanie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest Winners

• 2019 Sybil Nash Abrams Student Contests Winners

• Junior/Senior Division Group

  Benton Middle School Winners

2018 Winners

• 2018 Poetry Day Contest Winners
• 2018 Arkansas State Fair Poetry Winners
• 2018 Arkansas State Fair Best-of-Show Poetry Winners – Press Release
  

  2018 Arkansas State Fair Best-of-Show Poetry Winners

• 2018 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Awards
• 2018 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners
• 2018 Jeannie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Winners Press Release
  
  Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas (PRA) has announced the winners of its 2018 statewide Jeannie Dolan Carter Memorial Collegiate Poetry Contest (JDC).  Pictured left to right in the below group photo are:  PRA President Dennis Patton, Arkansas Poet Laureate Jo McDougall, 3^rd Place Winner Alexandra Borchardt from Arkansas State University, 1^st Place Winner Jake Sawyer from University of the Ozarks, JDC Sponsor Roger Carter, and JDC Contest Chair Donna Smith.  The separate photo is 2^nd Place Winner Meleah Perez from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.PRA also congratulates 3 Honorable Mentions:  1HM – Lindsey Walker from the University of Central Arkansas, 2HM – Rebecca Albert from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and 3HM – Samuel Cross-Meredith from John Brown University in Siloam Springs.

  

  

• 2018 SNA Student Contest Press Release

  

   

• Dennis Patton, President of PRA, delivers certificates/awards to students who did not attend the 2018 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration. (Not pictured is Grace Rew – Senior Division – 3rd HM.)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

2017 and 2016 Winners

• 2017 Poetry Day Winners
• 2017 Arkansas State Fair Poetry Contest Winners
• 2017 Terza Rima Sonnet Contest Winners
• 2017 NFSPS Winners
• 2017 Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration Contest Winners
• 2017 Jeannie Dolan Carter Collegiate Poetry Contest
  Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas announced the winners of its 2017 Jeannie Dolan Carter Collegiate Poetry Contest on Saturday, April 22nd at the Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration in Benton, Arkansas. The statewide contest was open to students in Arkansas colleges between January 1st and March 15th.The 2017 winners are:

  1st Place ($500) – Ellie Black of Hendrix College in Conway (from Clarksville, AR) for her poem, “reading the virgin suicides out loud”.

  2nd Place ($300) – Dennison Schultz of UofA Fayetteville (from Cabot, AR) for his poem, “PULSE”.

  3rd Place ($200) – Anushah Jiwani of Hendrix College in Conway (from Little Rock, AR) for her poem, “Halwa”.

  
• Visit the Poetry Day Winners page for 2016’s contest victors!
• 2016 St. Fair BOS Winners Press Release

• 

• 2016 Arkansas State Fair Poetry Contest Winners