Happy Friday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We know that it has been a hard week for everyone, and our thoughts are with the many people who have been impacted, particularly in Florida, the Carolinas, and Wyoming. We’re grateful to know that there are other people out there who turn to reading for comfort during time hards like this, and so we are honored to be able to share something new with you to read.
Today, we’re so excited to announce the winners of our May-June Poem of the Month contest!
Submissions for the May and June contest were accepted throughout the months of April and May, 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:
Beth Kanell – “Resilience, In Theory”
Beth’s poem, in an incredibly timely fashion, speaks to living after a natural disaster, how home is redefined when it is shaken (if not destroyed), and nature’s slow but sure restorative properties. It’s a gorgeous, slow, and subtle poem filled with striking imagery, impressive enjambment choices, and lovely poetic writing. It’s a beautiful, important poem, 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 May-June Poem of the Month contest is none other than GTimothy Gordon, who writes strikingly imagistic and intelligent poetry.
His winning poem, “Meadowlark, Walt, Me,” predictably contains illusions to Walt Whitman (and when you read more of GTimothy’s work, that’s fitting!), but my favorite aspect of this poem was how the entire thing dangled on the image of the meadowlark, at first waiting and then breaking into song before the end, and it’s a beautiful journey of a poem. The connection between the persona and the meadowlark, as well as Walt, rings true, as well, as we imagine what someone else might do, and why, and how it might sound if we were to do it ourselves – a lovely call to the human-nature relationship. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
About GTimothy Gordon:
GTimothy Gordon divides lives among New Mexico/Texas borderland Chihuahuan Desert Southwest Organ Mountains, Asia, and, if the cash-money (as the ‘aughts were wont to say) holds out, Europe.
Dream Wind was published in 2020 (Spirit-of-the-Ram Press) followed by Ground of This Blue Earth (Mellen Press) and Everything Speaking Chinese was awarded the RIVERSTONE Poetry Prize (AZ). His work has appeared in AGNI, American Literary Review, Cincinnati Poetry Review, Mississippi Review, New York Quarterly, RHINO, Sonora Review, and Texas Observer, and several were nominated for Pushcarts and the Best of the Net. Empty was published in January 2024 (Cyberwit Press), and Blue Business was just accepted by Cyberwit Press to be published in Fall-Winter 2024!
“Meadowlark, Walt, Me” by GTimothy Gordon
Meadowlark, Walt, Me by GTimothy Gordon
Meadowlark sunning itself
on new high-end hacienda digs
cupola away from barrel cacti
and cottonwood, solitary, hermetic,
not many here of his kind, desert-savvy,
restless, saluting dawn in clear, sharp notes
until full light, the go-by patter turn achy,
warbly and gushy, dead-on dreamy I know,
and I know he’s not just crooning to dawn,
would-be few mates, just to himself,
content with his own song, voice,
I like to think, sounding very much mine,
Walt’s, of absent lover, significant other,
life partner, hanging like a lonely corner cowboy
waiting for that girl in the flatbed Ford
trolling Outback edge a second, third, time
for a closer look at him, our old Walt, me.
“Meadowlark, Walt, Me” 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 the meadowlark, I loved how the poem and its most complex moments hinged on the existence of that meadowlark waiting to sing. With the coming day, the rising sun, and the shock of the meadowlark’s song against the quiet, I loved the fusion of the different shades of yellow and blue. 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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