Lora Keller
https://www.instagram.com/loraannkeller/
A Second Place Prize
I'm honored to have won second place in the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets 2021 Triad Contest. You'll find it in the Poetry section of my website. Here are the judge's comments:
This poem uses simile and extended metaphor in surprising and ultimately very lovely ways: each image and comparison is clear, extremely specific, and intentional. The concision of the syntax leaves plenty of room for the reader’s imagination, and the sentences get shorter as the climax approaches – a breathless stuttering. The final two stanzas took my breath away. A cat in the garden, a tussle, and a shower of petals – and the speaker steps into the beauty of her sexuality for the first time. This is a gorgeous, finished poem.
This poem uses simile and extended metaphor in surprising and ultimately very lovely ways: each image and comparison is clear, extremely specific, and intentional. The concision of the syntax leaves plenty of room for the reader’s imagination, and the sentences get shorter as the climax approaches – a breathless stuttering. The final two stanzas took my breath away. A cat in the garden, a tussle, and a shower of petals – and the speaker steps into the beauty of her sexuality for the first time. This is a gorgeous, finished poem.
What's Been Published...
Poem in new Ariel Anthology. A virtual reading was held November to honor the issue. Two water walkers from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa led off the event and Dash Kelly Hamilton, Wisconsin's Poet Laureate, closed it. Wonderful!
What Editors Say...
"It's just a vivid, musical, highly condensed, and yet evocative rendering of a scene that Edward Hopper might have painted." - Max Garland, judge for Wisconsin Writers Association Jade Ring Contest.
I love this poem. My girlfriend and I will only wear black when we eat out. -- Michelle Hartman, Editor of Red River Review
Your poems show a side of and take an angle on Ritual that is unique among our submissions, and we think they would be an excellent addition to the Issue. -- Troy Payne, Editor of Lantern Journal
These concrete details are lovely; their settings stronger still. Your understanding of how to move a piece forward, how to give it motion, is a true strength. -- Judge from Sustainable Arts Foundation
Thanks for sending us your work, and we’ll be very pleased to include it in one of our poetry issues. I’m thrilled to be able to include your work. -- Dr. Christopher Todd Anderson, Guest Poetry Editor, The Midwest Quarterly
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What Else I've Been Doing...
For Riverkeeper, I photographed the thawing Milwaukee River, transferred the image to silk then embellished it with cotton thread and more silk. I pressed it between glass and mounted it in front of a glass mirror. 2021
Lyrical and sensitive … -- Jayshree M. Tripathi
I really enjoyed this uplifting poem which celebrates the power of the perfect shoe. -- Pamela Newham
I love this, and I really relate to the torn feelings you so eloquently shared. -- Stephanie Gagos
This poem uses simile and extended metaphor in surprising and ultimately very lovely ways: each image and comparison is clear, extremely specific, and intentional. The concision of the syntax leaves plenty of room for the reader’s imagination, and the sentences get shorter as the climax approaches – a breathless stuttering. The final two stanzas took my breath away. A cat in the garden, a tussle, and a shower of petals – and the speaker steps into the beauty of her sexuality for the first time. This is a gorgeous, finished poem.
-- 2021 Triad Contest Judge |