Happy Thursday, readers, writers, and shark fans! And Happy Thanksgiving to our US community members!
We hope you’re having a wonderful week. We want to say Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate, safe travels, and also happy decorating and happy shopping for those of you who will throw yourselves into the Christmas season this week, too! We know that this is really the last week of fall and the November harvest before everyone throws themselves into twinkling lights and snow, so we’re excited to celebrate the last little bit of fall today by announcing the winners of our November Poem of the Month contest!
Submissions for the November contest were accepted throughout the month of October, and these many, MANY works gorgeously and unflinchingly looked into themes commonly related to fall, nature, and memories, 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 (December), please submit by Monday, December 2nd! Submissions will still be accepted after that date, but they’ll be considered for the January 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 of which came out in November 2024, but there were two that I HAD to nominate for an Honorable Mention: both of which are by Diana Woodcock! All submissions are read anonymously at Lit Shark, so this was a delightful surprise for everyone!
Diana Woodcock – “Wildflower Pilgrimage, Great Smokies”
This poem is a gorgeous study of ecology, specifically the terrain and biodiverse landscape of the Great Smokies. The poem’s stanzas also move back and forth visually across the page, which is reminiscent of the peaks of the mountains, as well as the movement through them. It’s a stunning, naturalistic poem that, both, is a call out to beauty and a call to action for its readers. This one appeared in Issue 8 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK WEEK Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
Diana Woodcock – “Except for Robin and Wood Thrush”
This beautiful and short poem studies nature’s shift from daytime to nighttime, as well as the tradition from summer to fall and winter. Though most are settling in for the night, there is still the robin and the wood thrush, carrying on, making noise, and it’s a beautiful play on the visual and auditory senses. It’s a lovely, lurking little poem that stays with you long after you’ve read it, and we enjoyed it so much. This one appeared in Issue 7 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Spooky (TEETH) Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
And the Winner Is…
Amidst all of the wonderful submissions we received, including our Honorable Mention, I am so pleased to announce that the winner of Lit Shark Magazine’s November Poem of the Month contest is Doug Van Hooser, who writes stunning nature poems.
I have a huge soft spot for poetry that in some way converses with other poetry, and I also have a huge soft spot for Mary Oliver, so finding a poem that checked both of those boxes felt like winning some kind of poetic lottery. Doug’s poem, “Variations on ‘Joy Is Not Made to Be a Crumb,'” is in response to Mary Oliver’s poem, “Don’t Hesitate,” which ends with the phrase, “Joy is not made to be a crumb.” It’s a gorgeous, arresting poem about the importance of not waiting to live your life, living in the moment, and seeking out the glimmers – the tiny rays of joy and hope in our everyday lives. True to Doug’s form, it stunningly captures natural elements, birds, and windchimes, and carries images inside it all throughout the winter, ready for spring. I’m so glad it found a home at Lit Shark Magazine.
About Doug Van Hooser:
Doug Van Hooser splits his time between suburban Chicago where he uses pseudonyms with baristas, and southern Wisconsin where he enjoys sculling and cycling. His poetry has appeared in numerous publications and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Orison Anthology. He has also published short fiction and had readings of his plays in Chicago.
Links to his work can be found at dougvanhooser.com
“Variations On ‘Joy is Not Made to Be a Crumb’” by Doug Van Hooser
Variations On ‘Joy is Not Made to Be a Crumb’ by Doug Van Hooser
—after Mary Oliver’s “Don’t Hesitate”
Spring rain washes away the brown. Magnolia petals
strew the greening grass. Squill whispers tulips and
daffodils are coming. The fresh baked pie of May’s
blooms. The dresses peonies model. Goldfinch bliss
slaloming through the thistles. Wind chimes chatter
with the wind, clothes lined sheets snapping. Emerald
stain from fresh cut grass. Dragonfly iridescence. Not
the thorns but the rose’s myrrh scent that pricks the nose.
The beats of butterfly wings. The ping pong hoots of two
great horned owls in the moonlit dark. The blue jays’
jabber. The doves’ soothing coo. A bullfrog’s longing
honk. A beehive’s symphony. The waking kiss of morning
glories. A ripe tomato’s first bite. A stranger’s wave and
nod. An old friend knocking at the door. A melting
strawberry ice cream sunset. The missing mistletoe found.
“One Eccentric Owner” 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. When I read this poem, I knew immediately that I wanted to imagery to center around flowers, birds, and/or windchimes, but I wanted to create something that was visually striking and surprising, to mirror the pleasant surprises listed throughout this poem. These flowers feel like they’re growing out off of the page to me, and against that stark, slate blue, they remind me of beauty, surprise, and joy popping up from anywhere. 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 December Poem of the Month, please submit your poems for consideration as soon as possible! The absolute deadline is Monday, December 2nd, 2024. If you want to plan ahead for our January Poem of the Month, too, the deadline for that month’s contest is Friday, January 3rd.
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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