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Vote for your favorite 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff poems

by Patricia | 5.30.12

Hello, WIZ Readers and Contestants!  Thank you for your excellent participation in this year’s Spring Poetry Runoff Contest and Celebration!  It’s time to put on the mantle of poetry judges for the next seven days–part of the informal, just-for-fun nature of this contest.  But rather than limit each judge (that’ll be you) to just one vote, we’re asking each voter to choose her or his 3 (count them: one–two–THREE) favorite Spring Poetry Runoff entries of the 31 contest-eligible entries that came thundering down from the heights this spring.   The poll opens today and runs until 10:00 p.m. (Utah time) midnight Wednesday, June 6.

While readers and participants choose the winner(s) of the Spring Poetry Runoff Contest Popular Vote Award, WIZ admin will be choosing the winner of the Spring Poetry Runoff Admin Award.   Winners of both awards will be announced in a post on or shortly after Thursday, June 7.  The winner in each category will receive his or her choice of The Scholar of Moab, by frequent WIZ contributor Steven L. Peck, (Torrey House Press, 2011) or the distinguished new anthology of Mormon poetry, Fire in the Pasture, edited by Tyler Chadwick (Peculiar Pages, 2011).  Tyler has also contributed work to WIZ.

Rules for voting (PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY!!!):

1.  Each voter should select his or her 3 favorite poems of the 31 eligible. Please, participants–enter three choices for your favorite poems.  It’s more sporting than just voting for your single favorite poem, and it provides our poets feedback for their hard-wrought words.
2.  Each voter can vote only one time–no ballot-box-stuffing shenanigans, please.
3.  Voters are encouraged to read every poem before voting. Please note: Click here to see a complete list of contest eligible poems, then left click on a poem title.  This will open the complete poem in another window. Alternatively, to read all the poems, you could go to a Google docs page here and click through the links.
4.  Participating poets and WIZ readers may encourage friends and family members to read and vote.
5.  All participating poets are encouraged to vote whether their poems were published in the contest category or in the non-contest category.

Instructions for voting:

Click on the small square box next to the name of the poem that you wish to choose.  A green or black check mark will appear in that box.  If you accidentally check mark the wrong box or change your mind, simply click on the box again and the check mark will disappear.  After you have check-marked your 3 favorite poems (you will see 3 check marks on the page), click on the “Vote” box at the bottom of the page.   Clicking on that box will end your voting session, so be sure you’ve finished voting before you click “Vote.”  To see the tally of votes so far, click “View Results.”

Which three poems featured in WIZ's Spring Poetry Runoff 2012 did you like best?

  • "Since he was weaned" by James Goldberg (47%, 99 Votes)
  • "First Robins" by William Reger (43%, 92 Votes)
  • A Prayer to New Leaves" by William Reger (33%, 71 Votes)
  • "Untitled" by William Reger (25%, 54 Votes)
  • "Invasion" by Sarah Dunster (14%, 29 Votes)
  • "Boneyard Song" by Mark Penny (9%, 20 Votes)
  • "Three Mile Lake" (A Prayer for Spring) by Bradley McIlwain (6%, 13 Votes)
  • "Jet-Lagged Spring Therapy" by Ángel Chaparro Sainz (6%, 12 Votes)
  • "The Olive" by Harlow Clark (6%, 12 Votes)
  • "Wire Up My Mind To" by Ángel Chaparro Sainz (5%, 11 Votes)
  • "Breakfast" by Greg Gibby (5%, 11 Votes)
  • "Pulling Off Spring" by Ángel Chaparro Sainz (5%, 10 Votes)
  • "When the Rains Come" by Lou Davies James (4%, 9 Votes)
  • "Anticipation" by Merrijane Rice (4%, 8 Votes)
  • "While Digging Out the Garden" by Sarah Dunster (3%, 6 Votes)
  • "Sestina" by Sarah Dunster (3%, 6 Votes)
  • "I Miss That Time of Year I Know as Spring" by Mark Penny (2%, 5 Votes)
  • "April, I've Been Fooled Before" by Michael Lee Johnson (2%, 4 Votes)
  • "Robin's Hospice" by Cynthia Hallen (2%, 4 Votes)
  • "Rainbow in April" by Michael Lee Johnson (2%, 4 Votes)
  • "Tease" by Merrijane Rice (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Gatekeeper of Spring" by Harlow Clark (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "There's Nothing Like an Apple" by Mark Penny (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Catching Bliss" by Lou Davies James (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Easter Greetings" by Merrijane Rice (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Mallard Psalm" by Cynthia Hallen (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Let the Rocks Speak" by Mary Belardi Erickson (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "Walking to the Moon" by Sandra Skouson (1%, 3 Votes)
  • "End of the Drought" by Sandra Skouson (1%, 2 Votes)
  • "One Cup for Turning" by Lou Davies James (0%, 1 Votes)
  • "Natural Day of Prayer" by Cynthia Hallen (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 212

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Filed under: 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff, Nature poetry, Poetry, Submissions to WIZ, WIZ's Spring Poetry Runoff

31 Responses to Vote for your favorite 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff poems

  1. Sarah Dunster
    May 30th, 2012 at 8:36 am

    I may have accidentally voted twice… the interface with my android was being buggy (again).

  2. Patricia
    May 30th, 2012 at 9:13 am

    Nope, Sarah–you’re good. Thanks for voting!

  3. Mark
    May 31st, 2012 at 5:29 am

    Sorry. Was that link supposed to take us to a post with linked titles? All I’m getting is the homepage and a bunch of teasers. The former would make faster reviewing. Not complaining, just noting.

  4. Patricia
    May 31st, 2012 at 8:03 am

    Noted.

    In Step 3 of the instructions above, I’ve added a link to a Google docs page that contains all the poem titles and working links to the poems on WIZ. Not as WIZ-centric, but it might be a bit faster.

  5. Voting has begun for WIZ’s 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff | A Motley Vision
    June 1st, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    [...] To read the voting instructions and to vote, click here. [...]

  6. This Week in Mormon Literature, June 2, 2012 | Dawning of a Brighter Day
    June 2nd, 2012 at 10:20 am

    [...] Voting has begun for Wilderness Interface Zone’s 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff. Voting is going on until June 5. You can vote here. [...]

  7. Sarah Dunster
    June 5th, 2012 at 7:47 am

    nail-biting here. This is a close race!!

  8. Patricia
    June 5th, 2012 at 10:05 am

    I can feel the energy as contestants enter the turn before the home stretch.

    Reminder: The poll closes in 12 hours 55 minutes. Don’t miss the deadline!

  9. James Goldberg
    June 5th, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Birds or snakes…who will be this spring’s poetic mascot?

    It’s a race down to the wire between two species!

  10. Patricia
    June 5th, 2012 at 12:17 pm

    Don’t they know they’re related? Sibling rivalry–go figure.

  11. Patricia Lee
    June 5th, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    Good Luck

  12. Th.
    June 5th, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    .

    Well. I see my tastes are not typical.

    But I’m not bothered. good batch of poems this year.

  13. Patricia
    June 5th, 2012 at 1:48 pm

    Reminder to voters: Please vote for your THREE favorite poems. That’s more than ONE or TWO. It’s the sporting thing to do.

    Th.,

    Next year maybe we’ll run a Most UNpopular Poem Contest. Maybe one of your choices will prove to be popularly unpopular.

  14. Mark
    June 5th, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    Or you could make it really complicated and have everybody rank every single poem.

  15. Mark
    June 5th, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    And factor in the ratios of hits to post time and viewing time to word count. Heck, you could skip the voting all together and just use the ratios.

  16. Patricia
    June 5th, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    When my computer chimes midnight, the poll turns back into an inert pumpkin.

  17. Patricia
    June 5th, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    Wow, what a wild and suspenseful literary sack race this turned out to be. Congratulations, James, and well played!

    In fact, nicely done, everybody. Thanks so much for your exuberant participation in WIZ’s Spring Poetry Runoff Most Popular Poem Contest.

    And remember: It ain’t quite over yet. In a couple days, after a secret and elaborate process involving strange ceremonies, WIZ admin will emerge from its star chamber and announce the winner of the Admin Award.

    Stay tuned.

  18. Mark
    June 6th, 2012 at 2:28 am

    How about that Will Reger guy, though, eh? All three poems in the top four! There oughta be a prize for that.

    [Editor: Wish for more conventional spelling of an informal contraction sorta thingy granted]

  19. Mark
    June 6th, 2012 at 2:29 am

    Edit request: aughta -> oughta

  20. Will Reger
    June 6th, 2012 at 6:21 am

    My congratulations to James and my special thanks to all those who read and voted for our poetry. In particular, I am grateful to my wife, Mary, and our children who willingly put the word out about my work and this contest/website. Hopefully, WIZ picked up a few faithful future readers through their efforts.

  21. Patricia
    June 6th, 2012 at 8:05 am

    Mark,

    Do you wish readers to edit your “aughta” mentally or do you wish for a magical editorial transformation?

  22. James Goldberg
    June 6th, 2012 at 2:25 pm

    Will,

    Thank you for an extremely fun final voting race. The lead probably changed a dozen times in the final day–who would have thought a poetry contest could feel like an NBA game?

    And yes, hopefully a few of the extra voters who came in to watch the action got a spring poetry fix they might not have known they needed.

    -James

  23. Jonathon Penny
    June 6th, 2012 at 3:36 pm

    Nail-biter indeed! As ever, Spring Runoff delivered an embarrassment of riches. Thanks to all who submitted and all who read and voted! Now for those strange ceremonies. Wait for the smoke.

  24. Mark
    June 6th, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    Patricia: Wands ready, if you please. I really wish WordPress let people edit comments.

  25. Patricia
    June 6th, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    Let “people” edit comments?!?

    The fabric of the blogging universe would unravel at such speed that we’d all suffer whiplash, heartbreak, verbal and visual hallucinations, time warps and Alice-in-Wonderland Syndrome all at once. All of us. At the same time.

    Mark, you’re an anarchist. ;)

  26. Mark
    June 6th, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    I admit, the lack of government has its attractions. But WordPress could do like Moodle does and give commenters a few minutes to make changes.

  27. Patricia
    June 7th, 2012 at 9:03 am

    But I kinda liked “aughta”.

  28. Sarah Dunster
    June 7th, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    I like you guys.

  29. Mark
    June 7th, 2012 at 9:02 pm

    Fine! Keep the “aughta”. Let it be known that at certain conjunctions of unnamed stars, Mark Penny screws up on his spelling.

  30. Sarah Dunster
    June 7th, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    Blame it on technology like me :D Wanted to say to Theric…I often find myself in the same position. I try to claim it as evidence that I am a unique voice :)

  31. Four Centuries of Mormon Stories Contest | Dawning of a Brighter Day
    June 14th, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    [...] don’t know the numbers for the WIZ poetry contest, but I suspect that the tight race there correlated strongly with a sudden spike in pageviews on [...]

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