Foetry: American Poetry Watchdog

Exposing the fraudulent "contests."

Tracking the sycophants.

Naming names.

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize

Published by University of Pittsburgh

• Edited by Ed Ochester.
• Each manuscript must be accompanied by a check or money order in U.S. dollars for $20.00 payable to "University of Pittsburgh Press."
• According to the guidelines, "Employees and students of the University of Pittsburgh are not eligible for the award."
• This year's winner is Aaron Smith, who holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in various publications including Bloom, 5 AM (edited by Orchester), Gulfstream!ng, Kestrel, Pearl, Pleiades . . . He has done publicity for both the University of Pittsburgh Press and HarperCollins Publishers."
• Please help us to identify other conflicts as blatant as the one above. Previous winners are
• 2003 David Shumate, High Water Mark
• 2002 Shao Wei, Pulling a Dragon's Teeth
• 2001 Gabriel Gudding, A Defense of Poetry
• 2000 Quan Barry, Asylum
• 1999 Daisy Fried She Didn't Mean To Do It
• 1998 Shara McCallum, The Water Between Us
• 1997 Richard Blanco, City of a Hundred Fires
• 1996 Helen Conkling, Red Peony Night
• 1995 Sandy Solomon, Pears, Lake, Sun
• 1994 Jan Beatty, Mad River
• 1993 Natasha Sajé, Red Under the Skin
• 1992 Hunt Hawkins, The Domestic Life
• 1991 Julia Kasdorf, Sleeping Preacher
• 1990 Debra Allbery, Walking Distance
• 1989 Nancy Vieira Couto, The Face in the Water
• 1988 Maxine Scates, Toluca Street
• 1987 David Rivard, Torque
• 1986 Robley Wilson, Kingdoms of the Ordinary
• 1985 Liz Rosenberg, The Fire Music
• 1984 Arthur Smith, Elegy on Independence Day
• 1983 Kate Daniels, The White Wave
• 1982 Lawrence Joseph, Shouting at No One
• 1981 Kathy Calloway, Heart of the Garfish