<\/p>\n
\nThese ships, these islands, these simple trees
\nAre our rewards in substance, being poor.
\nThis earth a dictionary is
\nTo the root and growth of seeing,
\nAnd to the servant heart a door.<\/p>\n—Lawrence Durrell, from \u201cShips, Islands, Trees\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWinners of the 2025 White Poetry Contest<\/h4>\n
The theme for the 2025 contest was “Home Port,” in connection with the ILDS conference to be held in Vancouver, July 2026.<\/p>\n
\n
- First Place (tie)<\/dt>\n
- \u201cOn the Runway with Guns\u201d by Gabrielle LeMay (Oxnard, CA)
\n\u201cPenelope\u201d by Jane Maltby (Kent, UK)<\/dd>\n- Second Place (tie)<\/dt>\n
- \u201cLet\u2019s Steal a Boat\u201d by Judymay Murphy (London, UK)
\n\u201cMigration Inheritance\u201d by Jeremy Pak\u00a0Nelson (Manchester, UK)<\/dd>\n- Runners Up<\/dt>\n
- \u201cIn Irish There Are Nine Directions\u201d by Cat Brogan (Inishowen, IE)
\n\u201cFortune Telling My Older Self\u201d by Stephanie Saywell (Sunnyside, NY)
\n\u201cwashed up\u201d by Helen Smith (Dundee, UK)<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\nPrize-winning poems can be found on the 2025 White Mice Poetry Contest page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
\nNo, you should have picked one from a poem
\nBeing written softly with a brush–
\nThe breathless ideogram for love we writers hunt.<\/p>\n—Lawrence Durrell, “A Bowl of Roses”<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nWinners of the 2023 White Mice Poetry Contest<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The theme for the 2023 contest was “Ruins,” in keeping with the International Lawrence Durrell Society Conference to be held in Athens, Greece in July 2024.<\/p>\n
First Prize: <\/strong>\u201cChild of War\u201d by Gabrielle LeMay (Oxnard, CA)
\n Second Prize: <\/strong>\u201cPtochos\u201d by William Orem (Newton, MA)
\n Third Prize: <\/strong>\u201cAll things await the day of their breaking\u201d by William Orem (Newton, MA)<\/p>\nHonorable Mention:<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe Poet\u2019s Way\u201d by Partridge Boswell (Woodstock, VT)
\n\u201cIn Donegal\u201d by Deborah Doolittle (Jacksonville, NC)
\n\u201cDetritus\u201d by Dina Friedman (Hadley, MA)
\n\u201cBurnt Offerings\u201d Suzanne Burns (Bend, OR)<\/p>\nTo read the prize-winning poems, click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
A Coda: “Ruins,”<\/a><\/strong> by David Radavich<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Winners of the 2021 White Poetry Contest<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The theme for the 2021 contest was “History Revisited,” in connection with the pandemic-delayed ILDS conference to be held in Toulouse, France, June 2022.<\/p>\n
First Prize:<\/strong> “Flora” by Jesse Arthur Stone (Hedgesville, WV)
\nSecond Prize:<\/strong> “Army Chaplain receives news of the death of Ezra Pound, November 1, 1972” by Jane Mary Curran (Asheville, NC)
\nThird Prize:<\/strong> “The Hartford Railroad Disaster, 1877” by Laura Budofsky Wisniewski (Hinesburg, VT)
\nHonorable Mention (in alphabetical order by author name):<\/strong>
\n“Are We Here Yet?” by Patridge Boswell (Woodstock, NY)
\n“Legacy” by George Held<\/p>\nTo read the introductory essay and prize-winning poems, click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Winners of the 2019 White Mice Contest<\/h4>\n
The theme for the 2019 White Mice Poetry Contest was “The Heavens,” in connection with the 2020 ILDS Conference in Toulouse, France.<\/p>\n
First Prize:<\/strong> \u201cReflections of an Astronaut, Looking Down on Earth Below (a love song),\u201d by Daisy Bassen (East Greenwich, RI)
\nSecond Prize:<\/strong> \u201cAugust Missions,\u201d by Daryl Scroggins (Marfa, TX)Third Prize: \u201cSlippages,\u201d by Jesse Arthur Stone (Hedgesville, WV)
\nHonorable Mention (in alphabetical order by author name):<\/strong>
\n\u201cTraveller,\u201d by Graham Burchell (South Brent, Devon, UK)
\n\u201cFilling in the Spaces,\u201d by Marie Henry (San Rafael, CA)
\n\u201cHaiku in Terza Rima,\u201d by Katharyn Howd Machan (Ithaca, NY)<\/p>\nFinalists (in alphabetical order by author name): Bo Niles, Rev. Jennifer M. Phillips, Marjorie Stamm Rosenfeld, and Eileen Van Hook (two poems).To read the introductory essay and prize-winning poems, click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Winners of the 2017 White Mice Contest<\/h4>\n
The theme for 2017 was “Harbor,” in connection with the 2018 ILDS Conference in Chicago.<\/p>\n
First Prize:<\/strong> “I remember,” by Malcolm Miller (Salem, MA)
\nSecond Prize:<\/strong> “The Leaky Boat,” by Rachel Michaud (Washington, DC)
\nThird Prize:<\/strong> “She Sails,” by Paul Jones (Chapel Hill, NC)
\nHonorable Mentions (listed alphabetically by title):<\/strong>
\n“Land,” by Katharyn Howd Machan (Ithaca, NY)
\n“Waiting for the Tsunami,” by Nancy Cook (St. Paul, MN)<\/p>\nTo read the prize-winning poems, click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Winners of the 2015 White Mice Contest<\/h4>\n
We are happy to announce the winners of the 2015 White Mice Poetry Contest. \u00a0To read the prize-winning poems, click here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
First Prize:<\/strong> “The Color Hazel” by Stephen J. Kudliss
\nSecond Prize:<\/strong> “What We Swallowed” by John Davis
\nHonorable Mention (listed alphabetically by title):<\/strong>
\n“Drinking Much Wine from a Glass My Ex-Lover” by Katharyn Howd Machan
\n“Lunch on Poros” by Dr. Anthony Hirst<\/p>\nWinners of the 2013 White Mice Contest<\/h4>\n