# I won second prize in the Baltimore CityPaper Poetry contest! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176 "2002-06-27T03:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/1 "2002-06-27T03:59:34Z")
Yup, that’s right, I found out this evening that I won second prize! It’s so awesome because not only are they going to publish my poem, but they are going to pay me! Yay! Anyone in the Baltimore area, pick up a CityPaper next week and you can read my poem. It’s my first time ever being really published - not including school lit mags. Yay for me! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/2 "2002-06-27T04:47:07Z")
Congratulations. Is there any reason that you’re not posting your poem so we can all see it? Haj ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/3 "2002-06-27T04:56:13Z")
Excellent, **Sara** , congrats! ---
**Author:** ![Christina25](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Christina25](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christina25)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/4 "2002-06-27T06:51:32Z")
Wahooo! Good for you, damn good thing those papers are free, I wouldn’t wanna half to shell out 50 cents for a Baltimore Sun. All kidding aside, to be a published poet is to have stuck your foot into the door in my opinion. Congratulations and three cheers for Nachos4Sara! ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/5 "2002-06-27T07:01:25Z")
Congratulations **Nacho4Sara**! Good job. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/6 "2002-06-27T12:32:12Z")
Congratulations! Do they have a web site? Maybe the poem will be there, so those of us who aren’t in B-more can read it. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/7 "2002-06-27T12:53:07Z")
That is such wonderful news! Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/8 "2002-06-27T12:55:38Z")
So like, is it this week’s issue? Page number? ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/9 "2002-06-27T13:38:52Z")
Congratulations! I think you should take orders for us out-of-Baltimorians…I want one too! ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/10 "2002-06-27T15:47:27Z")
Congrats, **N4S**! I hope you post your poem, or a link to it. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/11 "2002-06-27T17:29:13Z")
Congrats, Sara! I’ll be sure to pick up a copy next Wednesday. The Baltimore City Paper’s website is [www.citypaper.com](http://www.citypaper.com), by the way. They’re a weekly paper with new issues every Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/12 "2002-06-27T17:40:04Z")
Hey ho! Congratulations! Give us a link when it comes out, 'kay? ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/13 "2002-06-27T18:08:03Z")
I was wondering about you; I hadn’t seen your name 'round these here parts in a while. Congrats on the poem!!! That’s just super. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/14 "2002-06-27T22:56:46Z")
Congratulations! I’ve only read the City Paper a few times but this is an occasion to go out and pick up a copy. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/15 "2002-06-27T23:23:06Z")
Thank you, everyone. I wasn’t sure about posting my poem here because there are always copyright issues, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway. Just, you know, don’t steal it or whatever. Imagine, Cecil and I appearing in the same paper. What an honor! By way of explanation, I was inspired my favorite poetic movement and one of my favorite poets. I was trying to use a lot of imagery in the style of the imagist poets (like Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams). Also, in the zen spirit of Gary Snyder, I wanted to capture a single moment and examine it from different angles - to create a sort of reverence and appreciation of a second that might otherwise pass by unnoticed. It’s actually quite pleasing for me because I love their winning poems; I have at least ten of them from past years clipped and saved. I talked to an editor friend about submitting my poems last year, and he basically said he didn’t think the CityPaper would appreciate my style, which at the time was a bit more maudlin and sentimental. But in the past year, I’ve moved away from that and worked on developing my own voice. Okay, so here it is: **Nuns** Drift by quiet as swept dust. One pauses – the others are dominoes hastening to a halt behind her – Then still, lined up like letters of the alphabet slipping silently from slackened lips – not ethereal or angelic but papery, frail – Absurdly human. The heft of expectation embraces them with a smothering breath – the secrets they possess the lives they have left and (silent as god) the prayers they have said – They move again. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/16 "2002-06-28T00:10:18Z")
beautiful, really. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/17 "2002-06-28T00:34:52Z")
Well done Sarah! ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/18 "2002-06-28T00:37:30Z")
Nice! Congrats. Isn’t it cool to get paid for doing something you _love_ to do? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/19 "2002-06-28T09:48:49Z")
You are a very highly talented poet, Sara. Wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176/20 "2002-06-28T11:58:01Z")
A lovely poem, Sara. Great imagery. Beautiful, strong metaphors. Good job, and congratulations! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-won-second-prize-in-the-baltimore-citypaper-poetry-contest/116176.md?page=2)