It’s time to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. Many of our readers already caught on, but I hope to catch some of you by surprise. We held back the Winter edition, and printed the Spring edition. Did you notice?

Instead, we are printing a special issue called the “Tricky edition.” Congratulations to those who made it in! The list of authors is at the bottom of this post.

We are finished with the “Tricky Edition,” which is a double issue featuring poems from both Winter and Summer. As of yesterday, we are accepting for the Fall and submissions for the Summer are now closed, of course.

The “Tricky Edition” (We got the name from one of our readers) is the largest issue we have ever published. It includes the Lard feature and hundreds of pages of poetry. For those of you who have been collecting our issues (I know many of you have them all), this issue will be a neat addition to your collection because it is unlike any of the other issues. For those of you who just love great poetry, this one is jammed packed with great poems. It’s HUGE.

Congratulations to the following poets for their publication in the Tricky Winter/Summer Issue. I will make another announcement when it is available online and in print.

A.D. Carswell – A.J. Huffman – Aaron Poller – Alexander Stout – Amy Marengo – Andrea Alterman – Andrew Byrne – Ann Howells – Anthony Romero – Anthony Ward – Art Bupkis – Asha Khaladkar – Avril Leaf – Baumier Matthieu – Beau Boudreaux – Benjamin C. Krause – Benjamin Fischer – Bob Seltzer – Bobbi Scully – Brad Phillips – Bradford Middleton – Brian Tierney – Caitlin Lancit – Carmen Barefield – Carol Alexander – Charles Byrne – Chris Siteman – Christopher Keller – Claire Holtz – Corey Ginsberg – Craig Steele – Dan Corjescu – Dan Simmons – Danielle Jones – Danielle Pelletier – David Edwards – David Esposito – David Holmer – David Riddle III – David Russomano – Dawn Ray – Dean Bowman – Dennis Foster – Devon Moody – Donia Mounsef – Doug Robbins – Doyle Dunne – Dylan Bargteil – Ed Meek – Eddie Jones – Eliot Underwood – Emma Drew – Erin Hollowell – Erin McCourt – Ethan Leonard – Fran Thomas – Gene Fehler – George Korolog – Gerald Solomon – Gerburg Garmann – Greg Scheiber – Gregory Stenta – Heather LeNoir – henry 7. reneau, jr. – J. J. Steinfeld – Jagannath Rao Adukuri – James Fowler – James Stockman – Jamie Hubner – Janae Green – Jane Attanucci – Jason Lisogorsky – Jenna Gotthelf – Jennifer Cook – Jennifer Lee – Jennifer Ruth Jackson – Jennifer Saunders – Jerrold Yam – Jerry Brunoe – Jessica Irwin Irwin – Jim Davis – Jim Phillips – Jim Schneider – John Buckley – John Tustin – John Wang – Jonathan Stillerman – Jonel Abellanosa – Jose Gepanaga – Joseph Gant – Joseph Muholland – Joshua Sipp – June Saraceno – KC Wilder – Kate Swinson – Kathy Coman – Keith Burkholder – Kelli Allen – Kent Hall – Kent Leatham – Kevin Dublin – Kevin Mazzola – Kimberly Bingheim – Kimberly McClune – Kina Viola – Kristina Popiel – L. R. Baxter – Lana Rakhman – Larry Eby – Lauren Sealy – Lee Patton – Len Krisak – Lennart Lundh – Li Ding – Lin Powell – Linda Hatton – Logan Lawrence – Lori Hahnel – Lowell Jaeger – Lynn Hoffman – Maggie Saturley – Maranda Wimmer – Marcelo H. Castillo – Marcia Ratliff – Marissa Coning – Mark Ari – Mark Parsons – Mary Rogers Knowles – Matt Summers – Matthew Brown – Michael Lewis-Beck – Michael Palmer – Michelle Hartman – Mike Perkins – Monica Stover – Neal Whitman – Neil Faint – Neila Mezynski – Olivia Inwood – Patricia Bruce – Paul Bowers – Peggy Aylsworth – Peggy Boone – Pete Viola – Peter Branson – Peter Schireson – Rachel Kearney – Randy Boone – Rebecca L. Brown – Rich Ives – Richelle Gilsdorf – Rob Vogt – Robert Eastwood – Rose Mary Boehm – Rose Richard – Ruth Bavetta – Sam Lane – Santosh Kalwar – Scott Hutchison – Shannon Cuthbert – Shawn Hampton – Sherry Steiner – Silvi Saxena – Silvia Carrus – Steffi Shook – Suzanne Stratmann – T.R. Null – Tara Wohlberg – Thomas Piekarski – Tim Suermondt – Timothy Ogene – Todd Grant – Tom Lavelle – Trevor Ketner – Vai Patil – Victor Macrinici – Whitney Wyatt – Wynne Morrison – Yvonna Rousseva – Zach Fechter

Imagine how happy I was to be asked to review a new book released by the winner of last year’s Rebecca Lard award. I recognized the beauty of her poems instantly, and I was delighted to hear our judge picked her poem, The Season Begins in a Waiting Room, from the hundreds of submissions we received.

I’m talking about Susan Davis, of course, and the book I am reviewing is, “I Was Building Up To Something” (Moon Tide Press).

This collection of poetry is filled with fully-matured wisdom and spirituality. The deep-reaching voice seems to call to readers, providing an unexpected connection with the work. It feels deeply personal, even familiar, as though these poems have been lost somehow, and are being rediscovered all over again. The clarity and vision of the collection as a whole is bursting with the icons of family and culture. When reading these works, an extension of Davis bleeds into the words, filling the reader with tenderness and longing, including reverent moments that only the ache of violence or the tender closeness of family can evoke. “I Was Building Up To Something” is a collection readers will return to again and again. One of the best books I have read in years.

Glenn Lyvers
Editor, Poetry Quarterly

The winners of this year’s (2011) Lard award are:

Nancy Kassell – Wild Type (Grand Prize Winner)

Nancy Kassell’s work has appeared in Notre Dame Review, Borderlands, Eclipse, Willow Springs, Peregrine, Westview, Salamander, and in the anthologies Verse and Universe: Poems about Science and Mathematics, and Family Reunion: Poems about Parenting Grown Children. She lives in Brookline, MA.

Runners up:
Kelli Allen – Words for Reach, Lines for Falling
Mary Elizabeth Parker – Grakles In the Wind
Mary Elizabeth Parker – Hurt
Samuel Hovda – According to My Memories
Carol Munn – Virgen de Los Desamparados
Carol Munn – Christmas in the Pyrenees

Congratulations to the winners!

Shaindel Beers

Shaindel Beers’ first full-length poetry collection, A Brief History of Time, was released by Salt Publishing in 2009. She is at work on her second collection, The Children’s War and serves as Poetry Editor of Contrary (http://contrarymagazine.com/). Find her online at http://shaindelbeers.com/. She is currently an instructor of English at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, Oregon, in Eastern Oregon’s high desert.