Proceeds from a poetry contest spearheaded by the Blue Mountain Community College English Department and Library Services will benefit the Pendleton Warming Station.
The contest raised $225 for the Warming Station.
BMCC just announced the contest winners:
1st place winner: John Johnson – “Out of Darkness”
Honorable mentions:
Larry Thacker – “The last homeless man”
Kristin Rajan – “Ode to Horatio”
Andy Smart – “Winter’s Rag and Bone”
Larry Thacker – “The Painter”
Sharla Yates – “Delta”
The contest was open to all poets writing in English. Poems were limited to a single page, and applicants were allowed to submit up to five poems at $3 per poem. The proceeds from entry fees will be donated to the Pendleton Warming Station, which provides a place for those without homes to stay overnight when the temperature drops to below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The Station is open Nov. 1 through March 31 each year.
“We decided sort of on a whim to start a contest benefitting the Warming Station the day before the first snow earlier this year in Pendleton,” said BMCC English Instructor Shaindel Beers. “We figured that reading new work, learning of new writers, and donating to a worthy cause in Pendleton would be a win-win for everyone involved.”
The winning poems and information on the poets can be found online.
