October 16, 2019

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize – The Winners

Updated February 11, 2020. The 2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize — our 7th annual poetry contest — exceeded all expectations, with 1200 entries, from 47 US states and 75 countries, comprising more than 2,000 individual poems. All poems were read “blind” with all identifying information deleted. Our tireless first round readers whittled that number down …

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize – The Winners Read More »

Alessandra Bava: “My Son Writes His First Poem in Spanish”

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize Finalist, selected by judge Tanya Ko Hong Maybe I am biased, but I like this poem because it uses Spanish as well as English in the piece. Creating a multilingual experience opens a whole other part of the mind, soul, and heart. Saying and reading unfamiliar words out loud creates …

Alessandra Bava: “My Son Writes His First Poem in Spanish” Read More »

Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach: “Practice Children Don’t Survive the Holidays”

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize finalist selected by judge Alexis Rhone Fancher The shock of this poem, coupled with the poet’s precise language and brilliant imagery, made for a fantastic read. Each time I read this poem, I was blown away by its audacity and strange logic. It knocked me out. — Alexis Rhone Fancher *** …

Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach: “Practice Children Don’t Survive the Holidays” Read More »

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize – The Semifinalists

The 2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize — our 7th annual poetry contest — exceeded all expectations, with 1200 entries, and over 2,000 individual poems. All poems were read “blind” with all identifying information deleted. Three winners and six finalists were selected, and their poems have been published in Cultural Weekly. This is the list of …

2019 Jack Grapes Poetry Prize – The Semifinalists Read More »

Figaro Delivers Sweet Singing, Drawing-Room Comedy

San Francisco Opera just opened a handsome new production of The Marriage of Figaro, and it’s an energetic take on Mozart’s classic 1786 comedy. The story is both simple and incredibly convoluted. Figaro, (Michael Sumuel), a footman in the household of Count Almaviva (Levente Molnar), wants to marry the beautiful servant girl Susanna (Jeanine De …

Figaro Delivers Sweet Singing, Drawing-Room Comedy Read More »

What are you looking for?