Poetry 99

They say the third time’s a charm, so in year three of Poetry 99 the CN&R decided to kick things up a notch, inviting a guest judge and teaming up with local bookseller Heather Lyon for a party, reading and chapbook.

Overall, we think this is our best year yet. Guest judge Jeanne Clark, a creative-writing professor at Chico State, lent a seasoned poet’s eye—and a little more heft—to our annual contest. There were hundreds of entries, which we at the CN&R read through before handing over both the good and not-so-good to Clark, who hand picked each winner and honorable mention. She deserves some kudos for the sheer number of poems she read through over the course of a week.

Entries came from far and wide—many from here in Chico, Paradise and Oroville, but some from as far away as Cottonwood, Corning and Running Springs. Of the many talented poets in our midst, the ones that follow were deemed the best of the best for 2009.

“Judging this contest has been a heartening and inspiring process,” Clark says. “To know that more than 400 people in Chico are writing poems that they want to share with the world and that so many of these poems speak eloquently and earnestly is an astonishing gift to us all.”

Enjoy!