Culture
Local Poet Is Award Winner in Multiple Ohio Poetry Day Contests
< < Back toThe 2017 Ohio Poetry Day Awards for outstanding poetry have been chosen for 2017.
Local poet, Kari Gunter-Seymour was selected for awards in five contests:
Evelyn Barker Award: 2nd place
A New Perspective, Wright Writers of Dayton: 2nd place
Crème de la Crème: 3rd place
OPD Special Award: Honorable Mention
Haiku for Betty: Honorable Mention
“In 1938, the State of Ohio set the third Friday of every October as Ohio Poetry Day. This was the first poetry day established by a state government in the United States. Tessa Sweazy Webb spent 13 months lobbying the Ohio General Assembly to create Ohio Poetry Day. She argued, ‘For each living reader a living poet, for each living poet a living reader.’ After Ohio approved Webb’s idea, other states adopted a day dedicated to poetry as well.” – Quotation from Ohio History Central
Now in its 80th year, Ohio Poetry Day will be held on October 6 and 7, 2017 at the Troy Hayner Cultural Center in Troy Ohio. Along with an anniversary celebration, winners of the annual poetry contests will be honored and the 2017 Ohio Poet of the Year, Kathy Fagan will do a reading from her latest book, Sycamore. Gunter-Seymour has been selected to present her performance piece, chosen as the 2017 winner of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies’ BlackBerry Peach Performance Poetry Award, which she performed during the NFSPS national convention in Ft. Worth, TX this past summer.
Twice a pushcart nominee, Gunter-Seymour’s chapbook Serving was chosen runner up in the 2016 Yellow Chair Review Annual Chapbook Contest and is forthcoming from Red Bird Chapbooks fall 2017. Her poems can be found in numerous literary journals – Rattle, Crab Orchard Review, Stirring, and the anthology To Unsnare Time’s Warp, Main Street Rag – as well as on her website: www.karigunterseymourpoet.com. She has studied at the acclaimed Hindman Settlement School, Hindman, KY and holds a BFA in graphic design, an MA in commercial photography and is an Instructor in the School of Journalism at Ohio University. Find her at Poets & Writers at www.pw.org/content/kari_gunterseymour.
The Troy Hayner Cultural Center was formerly the home of Mary Jane Hayner. The 1914 Romanesque mansion houses a lively community arts center. The Center houses historic furnishings and works of art, a Victorian dollhouse, and a permanent exhibition about the Hayner Distillery Company. The public is invited to attend Friday evening and Saturday afternoon events. More information can be found on the Ohio Poetry Association blogspot.