I WON THE PORTER HOUSE REVIEW EDITOR'S PRIZE IN POETRY!!!

I’m too excited to beat around the bush with a cutesy opener, so I’ll just tell you: I WON THE PORTER HOUSE REVIEW EDITOR’S PRIZE IN POETRY!! The contest was judged by Kaveh Akbar—yes, THAT Kaveh Akbar!!

He chose my poem “our people had mansions” to win, which is validating for a couple of reasons:

1) At the time I wrote this poem, I didn’t know “docupoetics” or “documentary poetics” was a thing. I just liked the idea of applying my journalism background and research skills to poetry. In between submitting the poem and finding out it won the contest, I’ve since learned of the rich tradition of the docupoetic genre and feel so at home knowing there’s a name for what I do.

2) Also, before I found out this poem won the contest, I decided to name my full poetry collection-in-progress “We Had Mansions,” with this poem being the central anchor.

Please read and share “our people had mansions”! This is my first poetry contest win and I want to celebrate with you. <3

writing updatesMandy Shunnarahporter house review, kaveh akbar, editor's prize, writing contest, poetry contest, editor's prize in poetry, lit mag, literary magazine, poetry, new poem