We’re pleased to announce the following $10,000 Rattle Poetry Prize winner:

“Heard”
Rayon Lennon
New Haven, CT

Finalists:

Note: After subscriber vote, Jimmy Pappas was selected as winner of the Readers’ Choice Award. For more information and the full results, click here.

“Love Refrains”
Barbara Lydecker Crane
Somerville, MA

“Girl Like”
Kayla Czaga
Vancouver, BC

“When You Are the Brownest White Girl”
Emari DiGiorgio
Ventnor City, NJ

“How Tiresome”
Rhina P. Espaillat
Newburyport, MA

“Upgrades”
Troy Jollimore
Chico, CA

“I Like Her”
Nancy Kangas
Columbus, OH

“Two Weeks with Pay”
Ron Koertge
Pasadena, CA

“Bobby’s Story”
Jimmy Pappas
Chichester, NH

“Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body”
Kirk Schlueter
Edwardsville, IL

“The Beautiful Particulars”
Alison Townsend
Stoughton, WI

These eleven poems were published in the Winter issue of Rattle that December. Each of the Finalists were also eligible for the $2,000 Readers’ Choice Award, selected by entrant and subscriber vote.

Another seven poems were selected for standard publication, and offered a space in the open section of a future issue. These poets will be notified individually about details, but they are: Scott Beal, Megan Falley, Dave Harris, Nicole Homer, Nancy Kangas, Laura Read, and Daniel Tompkins.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the competition, which would not have been a success without your diverse and inspiring poems. We received a record 4,184 entries and well over 15,000 poems, and it was an honor to read each of them.