THE 2020 ALLEN GINSBERG POETRY AWARD WINNERS
Honoring Allen Ginsberg’s contribution to American literature, this annual poetry competition awards a first prize of $1000, second prize of $200, and a third prize of $100.
The 2020 Issue #48 of the Paterson Literary Review includes all the winning, honorable mention and editor’s choice poems.
FIRST PRIZE
Sara Henning, Nacogdoches, TX
”To My Husband, Driving into Bad Weather”
Ray Petersen, Redwood, NY
”What I Wanted When I Was Twelve”
SECOND PRIZE
Jason Craig Poole, Bethlehem, PA
”The Truth About Cats”
Mary Crosby, Ringwood, NJ
”Augury”
THIRD PRIZE
Rachelle M. Parker, Maplewood, NJ
”I Worry About Atatiana Jefferson's Nephew”
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Howard Berelson Teaneck, NJ
Lady in Blue
Theresa Burns South Orange, NJ
Green
Felicia Sanzari Chernesky Flemington, NJ
Mother Tongue
Laura Didyk Great Barrington, MA
Poetry's House
Catherine Doty Boonton, NJ
JC and Me in the Spring of 64
Christopher Duffy Wood-Ridge, NJ
When Men Wore Fedora's
Jim Dwyer Saint Petersburg, FL
Love Poem (nothing wrong but all the usual)
Maria Famà Philadelphia, PA
Daddy's Little Cap
Linda Nemec Foster Grand Rapids, MI
A Modern Parable for the End of the World
Jonathan Greenhause Jersey City, NJ
My Father's across the Atlantic, on the verge
James D. Gwyn Clifton, NJ
In Plain Sight
Catherine Hardy Los Alamos, NM
For a Student Who Wrote About Suicide and Who is Absent Today
Valarie Hastings San Francisco, CA
State of Emergency
Mary Jo LoBello Jerome New Hope, PA
I Dream What My Mother Means to Say
Diane Khoury Cresskill, NJ
My Mother and Her Piano
Raphael Helena Kosek Hopewell Junction, NY
Foggy Morning at the Autobody Shop
Jennifer Lagier Monterey, CA
I Remember Him
Annie Lanzillotto Yonkers, NY
Nerina
Antoinette Libro Sea Isle City, NJ
Mail Order Mother
John H. McDermott Jr. Cranford, NJ
Gone Fishing?
Gloria G. Murray Deer Park, NY
I could have been a hippie
Lesléa Newman Northampton, MA
My Mother Is At The Bridge
F. L. Niccoletti West Orange, NJ
My Watch In a Sow's Ear
Lisa Coll Nicolaou Fair Lawn, NJ
My Great Grandmother's Smile
Marion Paganello Fair Lawn, NJ
Lipstick
Jennifer Poteet Montclair, NJ
Jewels
Wanda S. Praisner Bedminister, NJ
After the Saturday Matinee
Arthur Russell Nutley, NJ
The Jetty
Lori Ruzich Verona, NJ
Pop's Advice
Gwen T. Samuels Albuquerque, NM
South of the Border
Margaret R. Sáraco Montclair, NJ
The Unlocked Door
Maxine Susman Princeton, NJ
Home Phone
Clare Ultimo Brooklyn, NY
Sex for Beginners
Jamie Wendt Chicago, IL
Sadelle Freeman, 1941
Xandt Wyntreez Montclair, NJ
Do You Ever Think of Me?
Neal Zirn Denver, CO
Depression-era Frugal
EDITOR’S CHOICE
EC Florence Ames Woodland Hills, CA
Stillness
Anne-Marie Brumm New York, NY
Why My Mother Never Read Any of My Poems
Amanda Latrenta Crane River Edge, NJ
Scotch Tape Nails
Alyssa Dugasz Woodbridge, NJ
The Scent of Us
Janine Horber Washington, NJ
Praise
Josh Humphrey Kearny, NJ
Summer of the Sinkholes
Laine Sutton Johnson Hillsborough, NJ
My First Love
Gina Logan Braintree, VT
Alexander
Greg Masters New York, NY
Harry James
Margaret Gish Miller Gig Harbor, WA
It's Not That He Raped Me
Meryl Natchez Kensington, CA
The Primary Handbook
Tina Schumann Seattle, WA
Why I Read the Obits
Donna Spector Warwick, NY
The Compleat Wife, 1962
Shane Wagner Chatham, NJ
Feeding My Son
Bill Wunder Langhorne, PA
Winter on Searsburg Mountain, Vermont