Knockout's Inaugural Poetry Contest

We were excited to have more than 60 poets enter the inaugural contest, for a total of approximately 200 poems. Knockout is pleased to announce that judge James Bertolino has selected the poem "My Friend the Philosopher" by Charlotte Innes as the winner of the contest. Charlotte will receive a $100 gift certificate to Powell's Books, an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, her prize-winning poem will be published in a forthcoming issue of Knockout, and she will receive five complimentary copies of that issue of Knockout.

Congratulations are also due to the other finalists:

    Richard Downing ("Polar Dream #4)

    Eva Heisler ("In Place of Memory the Place of Memory")

    Karsten Piper ("The Smoker")

2009 International Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize

We're also proud to announce Knockout's new poetry contest, the 2009 International Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize, a new poetry contest in honor of poet Reginald Shepherd, who left us on September 10, 2008. For more information on Reginald Shepherd's work, visit his blog at reginaldshepherd.blogspot.com. One of Shepherd's previously unpublished poems will appear in Knockout's second issue, due out during November 2008. For more information, please see: 2009 International Reginald Shepherd Memorial Poetry Prize.