From 1991 to 1997, each quarterly issues of Woodnotes announced a “Woodnotes Award” winner. These awards sought to stimulate the submission of excellent poems and to honour submitters for their work. From 1991 to 1995 (issues #11 through #27), these winners were selected by the editors. In 1996, for issues #28 through #30, they were selected by the previous winner, with the final winner in 1997, from issue #31, being selected by the editor. The following are all the “Woodnotes Award” winners. Each announcement also listed three runners-up, but those poems are not included here. Gary Hotham, Matthew Louvière, Patricia Neubauer, and Peggy Willis Lyles each won the award twice.
she lifts the broom
as if to sweep
—a gust of wind
Matthew Louvière
stillness
of the mist . . .
white rowboat
Marlina Rinzen
morning breeze
pulsing in the Buddha’s palm
a spider web
Ebba Story
autumn wind—
milkweed plumes
in the beggar’s bowl
Patricia Neubauer
my father
gentle for a moment—
butterflies
Marianne Monaco
planting alyssum
morning sunlight, purple
on the earthworms
Kathy White
fields flooded—
beneath the surface, somewhere,
the river bends
Christopher Herold
November mist—
wood smoke scents
the jogger’s way
Peggy Willis Lyles
falling snow
white envelopes drop
through the mail slot
Winona Baker
knocking on the hive—
the hum of winter bees
rises a moment
Paul O. Williams
nursing a friend with AIDS
I close the window
against rain
Jerry Kilbride
hand to hand
the unframed photos
of her life
Gary Hotham
palominos—
curve of the winter hills
in moonlight
Cherie Hunter Day
wild rose—
on the thorn’s tip
a bead of blood
Jeff Witkin
daybreak—
from the bread truck’s roof
frost swirls
Tom Clausen
fresh-fallen snow—
footprints leading away
from the grave
Mark Arvid White
toy shop window
a tiny sleigh waits
at the doll house door
Patricia Neubauer
Chosen by Patricia Neubauer from issue #27:
thunderclap
the frayed shoestring
snaps
Peggy Willis Lyles
Chosen by Peggy Willis Lyles from issue #28:
Meteor shower
a dog on the porch
shaking off
Matthew Louvière
Chosen by Matthew Louvière from issue #29:
after sunset
we lean against the stone wall
the warmth
Larry Kimmel
Chosen by Larry Kimmel from issue #30:
love lost
pulling crabgrass
in the fading light
Keiko Imaoka
Chosen by Michael Dylan Welch from issue #31:
with the numbers
my daughter knows—
the stars counted
Gary Hotham