Catamaran Poetry Prize
for West Coast Poets 2022
The Winner of the 2022 Poetry Prize is
A Grito Contest in the Afterlife
by Vincent Rendoni
from Seattle, Washington
Vincent Rendoni
Vincent Antonio Rendoni (he / him / his) is a Seattle-based writer. He is a 2022 Jack Straw Poetry Fellow and the winner of Blue Earth Review’s 2021 Flash Fiction Contest. His work has appeared / will be appearing in The Sycamore Review, The Vestal Review, The Texas Review, The Westchester Review, Quarterly West, Necessary Fiction and many other venues. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. He can be found online at www.vincentrendoni.com/writer and @warshingtonian
Judge Dorianne Laux had this to say about A Grito Contest in the Afterlife:
"I just love this voice to bits! This poet is unstoppable, adorably watchable, infectious and funny and deeply engaged with his world, and the worlds of the lives whirling around him. Distinct, singular, original voice, style and language. A joy to read."—Dorianne Laux
About the Catamaran Poetry Prize
for West Coast Poets
The Catamaran Poetry Prize encourages the submission of previously unpublished poetry manuscripts across a range of styles, themes, and forms. This contest is for a collection of poetry only. The prize is only open to West Coast poets living in California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii. A prize of $1,000 and publication in book form is awarded to the poetry collection selected by the judge. Submissions are accepted from Nov 15th through April 20th.
Congratulations to our 2022 Finalists and Semifinalists. Each will have a poem selected for publication in the Fall 2022 issue of Catamaran.
Finalists
The Current that Language Makes Visible
(runner-up) by Gail Entrekin from Orinda, California
Want by Kevin Clark from San Luis Obispo, California
Some Animal by Fay Dillof from Berkley, California
Inflorescence by Donna Prinzmetal from Portland, Oregon
Semifinalists
Black Women Standing Ankle Deep in Pacific Water
by E. Hughes from Oakland, California
Torrential by Jayne Marek from Port Townsend, Washington
Dumb Beautiful Ministers by John Whalen from Spokane, Washington
Statement on this year’s Catamaran Poetry Prize
Many thanks to all the poets who entered their work for this year’s Catamaran Poetry Prize. The pool of manuscripts was the largest we have ever received. That number alone is testimony to the incredible vitality of the poetry community on the West Coast of the United States. The poetry collections submitted were remarkably varied in their styles, projects, and subject matter. The regions that inspired the poems ranged from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California, The Northern California Bay Area, and Alaska. Many highly competitive manuscripts were entered, and to honor that, we have recognized, in addition to this year's winner, four finalists and three semifinalists. Congratulations to all the poets whose excellent work is celebrated here.
About Dorianne Laux:
The judge for our 2022 Catamaran poetry prize is Dorianne Laux. Pulitzer Prize finalist Dorianne Laux’s most recent collection is Only As The Day Is Long: New and Selected, W.W. Norton. She is also author of The Book of Men, winner of the Paterson Poetry Prize and Facts about the Moon, winner of the Oregon Book Award. She teaches poetry at North Carolina State and Pacific University. In 2020, Laux was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.