POETRY CONTEST WINNERS
2024
1st Place – Vicki Iorio – Shame
2nd Place – Pearl Ketover Prilik – Incredible Creep of the Tide
3rd Place – Ria Meade – Shallows
Honorable Mentions
Pamela Castelli – The Joshua Tree
Jim Coulter – Word Dancers
Phillip Giambri – Reality Check
Valerie Griggs – One Small Plate
Charlotte Iannone – Nineteen
Nina Malkin – I Go On
Florence Mondry – My Mother’s English
Gloria Murray – My Cleaning Lady
Sheri London Pastolove – We Collect Dishes
A.A. Rubin – My Hour Upon the Stage
Seated L-R: Austin Alexis, Maggie Bloomfield, Sheila Hoffenberg, Wendy Trontz, Robert Windorf. Foreground: Ria Meade. Standing L-R: NCPL Paula Curci, Valerie Griggs, Pres. NCPLS Paula Camacho
2023
1st Place – Valerie Griggs – Landscapes
2nd Place – Joan Vullo Obergh – Staff of Life
3rd Place – Austin Alexis – Spotting the Dead
Honorable Mention
Maggie Bloomfield – Note to You in Case You Forget
Sheila Hoffenberg – Enough Already
Mara Levine – Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet
Ria Meade – Night
Ella Scarlett O’Connor – The Art of Cutting a Mango
Wendy Trontz – Out of the Mouth of a Dog
Robert Windorf – Long Journey from Belfast to Brooklyn
2022
1st Place: Phillip Giambri – Freedom
2nd Place: Emily-Sue Sloane – After the Last Curtain Call
3rd Place: Diana Poulos-Lutz – I Cannot Live Without Magic
Honorable Mention
Valerie Griggs Autumn Tells Us More
Daria Hong Little Maisy
Iris Levin No Words Spoken
R Duke Liddell The Little Fella’
Sherri London Pastolove Pavlov’s Cat
Darren Sardelli Two Identical Puddles
Terry Simon A Child of the South
2021
1st Place: Emily-Sue Slone Coffee Break
2nd Place: Sheri Lindner Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
3rd Place: Gregory Cioffi Confined But Commemorating
Honorable Mention
Phillip Giambri Love Walks In
Joan Kuchner Life-long Conversation
John Lange Fashion
Iris Levin Cookies
Janet Lombardi Canaan, NY Farmhouse, 5 PM
Thomas Rozakis The Distant Storm Approaches
Sandy Wicker Winds of Change
2020
1st Place: Sybil Bank Sea Song
2nd Place: Christine A. Barbour Your Tiny Beak
3rd Place: Tom Oleszczuk Circular Canvas
Honorable Mention
Glenn P. Garamella Thoreau’s Cabin
Lois Kipnis Reflections
Iris Levin The Piano
Sheri Lindner Risen
Joan Vullo Obergh Evolution Anno Domini 2020
Diana Poulos-Lutz Candlelight
Terry Simon A New Mexico Sky
2019
1st Place: Diana Poulos-Lutz Be Not Ashamed
2nd Place: Valerie M. Griggs Vigil
3rd Place: Denise Kolanovic The Hunchback of Massapequa
Honorable Mention
Linda Cucurullo Eve
Sheila Hoffenberg In Memory of My Mother
Nurit Israeli Survivor
Anne Karpenstein The Fragile Fires of Creativity
Maria Manobianco Shifting Perspective
Sheri McKee Perspective
Jack Zaffos It Takes A While
2018
1st Place: Mari Levine Master of Silence
2nd Place: Christine A. Barbour Trains Out of Kosovo
3rd Place: Florence Mondry The Lady Plumber
Honorable Mention
Judith Lee Herbert My Grandfather’s Chocolate Set
Anne Sattler Hogan Don’t Tell Me
Lois Kipnis Reversal
George H. Northrup Newark Street Scene
Ellen Pickus Estate Sale
Karen Schulte Crossing Manhattan
Rosemary Walsh Night Song
2017
1st Place: Mara Levine Listening to Bach
2nd Place: Nurit Israeli Last Sunset
3rd Place: Rosemary Walsh October 31
Honorable Mention
Andy Burke The Heebie-Jeebies
Dolores Cinquemani Wood Talk
Douglas Dennison Dad at 86
Mike Hertz Inside the “Golden Years”/ a Victims View
Joan Higuchi Washboard Roads
Dd. Spungin I don’t cross the line into unimaginative worlds
George Strausman Woman
2016
1st Place: Marsha M. Nelson I Thought It Was Love
2nd Place: Lorene Vorbach Bossong Time Rape
3rd Place: Nurit Israeli Don’t Bury the Dream
Honorable Mention
Barbara Ehrentreu Searching for Me
Shilpi Goenka Tune of Tenderness
Valerie M. Griggs The Last Time
Sylvia Harnick Over / 90
Barbara Novack White
Pearl Ketover Prilik L.I. Summer People
Dd Spungin Reflections While Preparing Breakfast