2018 Bill Holm Winner, Jayne Marek

The titles of Jayne’s pieces are “Snow Day,” “Hungry,” “The Balance,” “Winter Pond as Window,” “Worry,” and “Woodcock Walk.” Since I lived for over 30 years in the upper Midwest, I have written a number of poems about that distinct ecology and climate, especially about the cold months. This set reflects the chilly joys of walking and watching birds in winter, for instance in Indiana, a flyway for cranes and a place where one can encounter woodcocks making their invisible, eerie-sounding displays.

Bio Note: Jayne Marek’s poetry and art photos appear recently in One, Stirring, Ascent, Slipstream, Bangor Literary Journal, The Cortland Review, Gulf Stream, Raven Chronicles, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Grub Street, and Amsterdam Quarterly. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, she also was a finalist for the David Martinson–Meadowhawk Prize, the Naugatuck River Review narrative poetry contest, the Ex Ophidia Poetry Book Prize, and the Ryan R. Gibbs Photography Contest. Her most recent books are In and Out of Rough Water (Aldrich Press, 2017) and The Tree Surgeon Dreams of Bowling (Finishing Line, 2018).

Bio Note: Jayne Marek’s poetry and art photos appear recently in One, Stirring, Ascent, Slipstream, Bangor Literary Journal, The Cortland Review, Gulf Stream, Raven Chronicles, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Grub Street, and Amsterdam Quarterly. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, she also was a finalist for the David Martinson–Meadowhawk Prize, the Naugatuck River Review narrative poetry contest, the Ex Ophidia Poetry Book Prize, and the Ryan R. Gibbs Photography Contest. Her most recent books are In and Out of Rough Water (Aldrich Press, 2017) and The Tree Surgeon Dreams of Bowling (Finishing Line, 2018).

Jayne’s Bill Holm Witness poetry collection to be published in WRUP Blog.