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The 2023 NBCC Award finalists
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Send It, Send It

Send It, Send It

by Karen Paul Holmes
Send it out, send it / to your mother spinning in another universe / your father too
The Likes of Us

The Likes of Us

by Ken Holland
Another ancient folk singer has died / and of course out come your stories
Ars Poetica with Clickbait

Ars Poetica with Clickbait

by Rebecca Foust
I’m sure it’s clickbait, a girl pulling and pulling / a line from a hole in the ice for what seems / like an hour
Blood and Ink

Blood and Ink

by Chris Atkin
I decided a long time ago I wanted one tattoo. / A single image that screams of self, / meant to say all the things I cannot find the words for.
Glyphs of a Gentle Going

Glyphs of a Gentle Going

by B. Fulton Jennes
My neighbor, a widower, vows / that his house will be / so death-cleaned on his demise / that his daughter’s only worry / will be to return the library book / laid to rest on his nightstand.
Checking Out

Checking Out

by Claire Matturro
Checking out in a long line / my mind on what the hell / I’m fixing for supper / I notice the guy in front of / me has a gun strapped to his hip
If it Wasn’t for You

If it Wasn’t for You

by Bill Ratner
I’d be a baby without skin, a parrot / without a little soap-shaped food cake, / a truck driver out of a job.
Gospel

Gospel

by Roy Bentley
I was raised with religion, if you count my granny Potter / reading to me from The King James Bible
Three Prose Poems

Three Prose Poems

by Kathleen Rooney
This day could use the excitement of receiving a surprise package. Even better if that package reads THIS SIDE UP.
It all began around a campfire…

Beautiful language

is meant to be heard as well as read, and in fact words were vocalized eons before they were ever committed to clay or parchment. Storytelling began around campfires. We seek prose and poetry that continue the tradition.

Contributor Spotlight:

by Mary Liza Hartong

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Best Writing Contests of 2022, recommended by Reedsy

by Stephen Parrish, with the editors of The Lascaux Review