Flee to Spring poetry contest 2021

With the end of a cruelly white winter, there comes a blossoming of flowers and the chirping of birds. The revival of dancing trees and the frolicking fauna is a view to behold. Every spring beholds a special story in its palms. The spring 2021 Poetry Contest brought out the stories of many poets as they traversed their way through the spring season. All the poets showed their best hands and weaved their poems into complex emotions that signified recovery, coping, violence and passion. The editorial team at Wingless Dreamer would like to thank everyone who has shared their spring poems, and without further delay, we are now proud to present the winner and top finalists for this contest:

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JUDGE’S PEN

Wingless Dreamer Spring poetry contest 2021: “Divide the year into four and hold spring in your hands. Now, let it sink that spring is a quarter of a lifetime, recurrent Renaissance, a toast to the end of a long winter. We had the honour to glimpse into the springs of many poets for our Spring 2021 Poetry Contest. Spring is no longer only dew on petals or a reminder that winter has passed; in fact, from the awe-inspiring entries we have received, it is clear everyone has something more to add. Sometimes it is not about recovery but coping, and sometimes it is sheer allegorical violence and volatile passion weaved into the seams of nature. This spring anthology is to be devoured.” – Judge Perry

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“I often find spring as a pause before the breath held in winter sighs out into summer and life begins growing again. Everything is nudged awake as if a mother waking a child at the first light. Having said that, we hope you had as much fun writing the poems as we had in reading them. Keep writing and shining.”– Judge Manasi

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“Spring is one of the most vibrant seasons and a favourite among the poets as its divine fires up their imagination to rimless. I would like to congratulate all the participants to give your poetry a chance to be read and to be heard. Start writing no matter what for you can always edit a poorly written page but not a blank page.” –Judge Ruchi

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The editorial team at Wingless Dreamer would like to thank everyone who has shared their spring poems, and without further delay, we are now proud to present the winner and top finalists for this contest:

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Beat the drums.

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The winning title for this contest and winning honorarium of $50 goes to:

Sinéad McClure – Journey

Sinéad McClure is a writer, radio producer, and illustrator. Her poetry and writing have been published on Poethead, Live Encounters, Crossways Literary Journal, The Cabinet of Heed, Dodging the Rain, StepAway Magazine, A New Ulster, The Ekphrastic Review, Drawn to the Light Press, The Cormorant Broadsheet, and RTEjr Radio. In March 2021 Sinéad won the 8th O Bhéal Five Word International Poetry Prize.

Our judges were awestruck by Sinéad’s poem, ‘Journey‘. We truly admire her imagination, the overall structure of the poem, and she successfully takes the readers on a mesmerizing journey to nature’s aura. This spring poem is something unique and different than the traditional poems on nature. We liked how her poem, Journey evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience and a specific emotional response through the language chosen. Well done!

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The first runner-up is:

Nicole Farmer – Lust

Nicole Farmer is a writer, teacher, and director living in Asheville, NC. Her poems have been published in The Bangalore Review, Great Smokies Review, and Sheepshead Review. Her play 50 JOBS was produced in Los Angeles. As a child, she dreamed of running away with the circus to become a trapeze artist.

Nicole Farmer’s poem, Lust is creative, clear, strong ending, and poignant. Keep up the good work.

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The second runner-up is:

RC deWinter – quartet in uncertainty and green

RC deWinter’s poetry is widely anthologized, notably in Uno: A Poetry Anthology (Xlibris, April 2002), New York City Haiku (Universe/NY Times, February /2017), Coffin Bell Two (Coffin Bell, March 2020) Winter Anthology: Healing Felines and Femmes, (Other Worldly Women Press, December 2020), Now We Heal: An Anthology of Hope, (Wellworth Publishing, December 2020) in print in 2River, Adelaide, Door Is A Jar, Event Magazine, Gargoyle Magazine, Genre Urban Arts, Gravitas, Kansas City Voices, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, the Minnesota review, Night Picnic Journal, Prairie Schooner, Reality Break Press, Southword among others and appears in numerous online literary journals.

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Top finalists:

Harsh Ramchandini – Everywhere I look

Harsh Ramchandani is a Hong Kong-based writer. Currently working in the IT industry, he writes as a creative outlet and as a way to raise funds for the various causes he supports. You can find some of his published work at www.harshchan.com

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Jess Richards – After Human

Jess Richards is the author of three literary fiction novels. Snake Ropes, Cooking with Bones, and City of Circles are published in the UK with Sceptre. Jess also writes poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. Originally from Scotland, Jess now lives with her wife in New Zealand.

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C.J. Beecher – Crazy mountain

C.J. Beecher is a writer and anthropologist perpetually on the lookout for good books, mountains, and food.

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Jonathan Latimer- Spring Rhapsody

As to his background, he has worked in publishing as a publisher, editor, writer, and developer specializing in creating and organizing large bodies of information in both print and electronic media. He now works as a freelance author and editor and as a consultant for multimedia educational projects for K-12 and college students, and information tools for students and adults.

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Samantha Wright – Rivers

Samantha Wright lives in Washington state with her husband and daughter. A graduate of Western Washington University, her poetry has been included in anthologies by The Moonstone Arts Center, Showbear Family Circus, Welter Magazine, and Cathexis.

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Anthony Lee Hamilton – Reynold’s Channel

Anthony Lee Hamilton is an emerging poet living in New York’s Hudson Valley. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Poetry South, The OPEN Journal of Arts & Letters, Chronogram, the Decadent Review, Stonesthrow Review, and the Texas Poetry Calendar. His short story “Pray” won the Button Eye Review’s 2020 Halloween Short Story Contest. When not reading or writing, he spends most of his time hiking alone or playing music with his wife and friends.

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Kalie Palmer – Wishful thinking

Kalie Palmer is a writer and poet from Detroit, MI. Her work has previously appeared in Soundings Literary and Visual Arts Journal, Soliloquies Anthology, Riza Press, Tulle Review, and Zoetic Press.

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Congratulations! You’ve done an incredible job by giving our judges some amazing spring poems. Also, we would like to give a huge round of applause to all the contributors who had been selected to get published with us in our upcoming spring anthology. Our judges and editorial team were awestruck reading your spring poems. Well done!