Happy Tuesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! I hope you’re having an incredible week! I’m sure those of you who have been following along have wondered what ever happened with our Poem of the month contest, and put very simply, we fell behind on going through contest submissions while tackling other projects. We’re so happy to finally be back and to be catching up on sharing some wonderful winning poems.
Today, we’re so excited to announce the winners of our March-April Poem of the Month contest!
Submissions for the March and April contest were accepted throughout the month of February, March, and April, and these works beautifully addressed nature, identity, family, and strife, and we were so honored to have a chance to read all of these pieces.
For those of you who would like to submit to one of Lit Shark’s Poem of the Month contests, you still can! Submissions are considered on a rolling basis, and it’s always free to enter. Submit here up to five poems or ten pages of poetry. If you want to be considered for our current contest (November), please submit by Friday, November 1! Submissions will still be accepted after that date, but they’ll be considered for the December Poem of the Month Contest instead.
Now, For the Honorable Mentions!
I read so many great poems during this round, and I accepted some for publication in Issue 7 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK WEEK Edition, and Issue 8 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Spooky (TEETH) Edition, both coming in October 2024, but there was one that I HAD to nominate for an Honorable Mention:
S. Abdulwasi’h Olaitan – “silent soliloquy: contemplation of rediscovery & grievance.”
S. Abdulwasih Olaitan crafted a wonderful poem about identity, loyalty, country, and diaspora. Through thoughtful imagery and ties to nature and politics, this ecopolitical poem does a wonderful job of exploring what it means to feel loyal to a country we were born into while also questioning its decisions and our place in it. It’s thoughtful, intelligent, and raw, and I hope you’ll admire it as much as I do.
And the Winner Is…
I am so pleased to announce that the winner of Lit Shark Magazine’s March-April Poem of the Month contest is none other than Megan Cartwright, who writes beautifully imagistic, striking, natural, and brief poetry.
Her winning poem, “Bones,” explores not just language and the power of words but our ever-evolving identities from the time we are born and on through to adulthood. It addresses our ongoing influences and shifting knowledge, and what I loved most, the surge into what we love most, what we want for ourselves, and what we believe we deserve. Though brief, this poem impressively tackles these complex concepts of self through gorgeous imagery in the form of fonts and fish guts, and it’s a poem I see myself returning to time and time again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
About Megan Cartwright:
“Bones” by Megan Cartwright
Bones by Megan Cartwright
As a child I believed you were Brigid, Boudica, Bast,
fecundity in which to bask –
then came the Siren song, herald for the skeleton
I would become.
Divided self – sole signatory /
Dictating a catalogue of demands.
I could sink forever in the hollows of collarbones –
but it’s never enough
to disappear completely. You can burn the book, but lists
are etched on the insides of my eyelids.
I like bold fonts and angular, ordered chaos.
I like bones sharp enough to gut fish on.
“Bones” Broadside Created by McKenzie Lynn Tozan
For each contest, the winner will receive a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, and the one I created can be found below. Though the poem is about more than “just” language and the evolution of self, I loved this imagery so much that I wanted to emulate an expansion from the mind, blossoming and growing into something new. It’s also intentionally reminiscent, in some ways, of the very first broadside in this series, as we dive back into this project. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
On the Lookout For the Next Winner!
If you’d like to be considered for our November Poem of the Month, please submit your poems for consideration as soon as possible! The absolute deadline is Friday, November 1st, 2024.
One winner will be selected, and they will receive $20, a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, mentions on our social media and our website, and a feature in our next issue of Lit Shark Magazine.
Honorable Mentions will also be considered, and they will receive a mention on our social media and website, and they will be featured in the next issue of Lit Shark Magazine.
Submitting to the Poem of the Month contest also counts as a general submission, so even if your work isn’t selected as a winner or honorable mention, your work may still be picked up for an upcoming issue! With it being free to enter, what do you have to lose?
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