Ned Foskey Poetry Prize Annual Reading Set for April 5

More than 90 Kalamazoo Valley Community College students submitted entries in the first annual Ned Foskey Poetry Prize competition. Mr. Foskey was a tutor in Kalamazoo Valley’s Writing Center and the contest was established by his family to honor students who he helped.

“We enjoyed reading all of the submitted work and we’re grateful to Ned Foskey's family and friends for creating this opportunity,” said Kalamazoo Valley English instructor Julie Stotz-Ghosh.

The first place award in the contest was $150. The second place winner receives $100, and the third place prize is $75.

The winners and honorable mention recipients will read their poems during the Ned Foskey Poetry Prize Annual Reading, set to take place during Kalamazoo’s Art Hop on April 5. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. in Room 175 in the Center for New Media in downtown Kalamazoo.

The winners and their poems include:

First Place: “The Hawk,” Matthew Burden

Second Place: “Blue Fox,” Emily Irene Weissenborn

Third Place: “Haiku Morning,” Nicole Burchette

Honorable Mentions:

“It Carries Gravity,” Allan Blank

“The River,” Jaycie Botting

“Losing a Child,” Matthew Burden

“Kite Strings,” David Douglass

“Misinterpreted,” Sarah Harvey

“This is Just to Say,” Jessica Kirklin

“Pile of Stagnant Beach Clay,” Sean Stoto

“There are Days,” Ruth Juanita Swearingin

“I Will,” Erin Velicky