Well, this was the fourth, technically–not–annual crawl (Thanks, COVID), but full of joy nonetheless. And wonderful poetry. Over the past five years, the Johnson City Poets Collective has four times hosted a unique poetry contest: the Poetry Pub Crawl. Poets submit poems, judges select finalists (and winners), then the poetry community and public come together one pub at a time to hear them and guest poets read their poems. Last year I had so much fun gathering at different venues for brews and poetry (to my surprise and delight my poem “Pining for Home” placed 3rd in that competition!). This year I was honored to serve as a judge along with the wonderful poets Amy Wright and Mack Rogers.
The theme for this year was transformation, and the diverse entries were amazing. The poems were so good it was difficult to narrow down to finalists and then collectively arrive at the top three poems. Originally planned for October 10, the event shifted to November 7 following the impact of Hurricane Helene on the area.
Tyler Barrett created this year’s sticker to reflect the event’s theme of transformation. I picked up a couple, and one joins a growing collection of stickers, most poetry oriented, decorating my laptop.
A Community Crawls
The evening began at The Atlantic Ale House. Next we stopped at Watauga Brewing Company, gathering a crowd as we progressed. The evening closed to a very full house at The Generalist. A special thanks go out to organizers and emcees Lacy Snapp, Raleigh Cody, and Emily Price for a wonderful evening and to my esteemed fellow judges Amy Wright and Mack Rogers for making my first panel judging experience so smooth and enjoyable.
This diverse and thriving community always brings warmth and positive energy when we gather, and the warmth began with an ode to Johnson City from Scott Honeycutt. In addition to finalists and collective regulars, Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) members and Philosopher’s House Poetry Writers Workshop regulars showed up (one of them won the top prize of the night!). I visited with old friends, got to know some new friends better, made new friends, and experienced some fantastic poetry read aloud.
Winners
It’s always exciting to learn who won, but as a judge it’s especially fun to discover who wrote the poems you selected. This year, the top three winners were
- 1st to Lydia Gwyn for “Unbury, Unbury: A Haibun”
- 2nd to AQ Hanna for “appalachia forever”
- 3rd to Josh Martin for “Requiem for a Kitchen Model”
More Highlights
While I enjoyed every minute of poetry, it was especially lovely to see current and former PST members Rieppe Moore, Kayla Nichols and Harvey Stone read their work live and in person along with Melissa Helton (one of last year’s judges) and Amy Wright (one of my fellow judges this year).
Beyond the Crawl
Poets, if you’re looking for another contest to enter, check out the Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) festival contests. Most are open to anyone.The deadline to enter is December 15, 2024.
For open mic opportunities in the Johnson City area, join the Johnson City Poets Collective on third Wednesday evenings of the month for their Poetry Hoot at the Down Home or the PST/Poetry Writers Workshop open mic on first Tuesday evenings at The Philosophers House.
About Johnson City Poets Collective
Johnson City Poets Collective members share a passion for language, expression, and fellowship. The collective holds a welcoming and first-timer friendly open mic Poetry Hoot at The Down Home in downtown Johnson City on the third Wednesday of the month and an annual Poetry Pub Crawl contest. They also promote poetry and area poets at various events through the year. Keep up with their happenings on Facebook (@johnsoncitypoets) and instagram (@jcpoetscollective).
About Lydia Gwyn
Lydia Gwyn is the author of the flash fiction collections: You’ll Never Find Another (Matter Press, 2021) and Tiny Doors (2018, Another New Calligraphy). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Best Microfictions 2024, F(r)iction, The Florida Review, and others. She lives with her family in East Tennessee and works as an instruction librarian at East Tennessee State University. Learn more at https://lydiagwyn.wordpress.com/ or on socials: Instagram @Squidlydia Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lydia.gwyn/.
About AQ Hanna
AQ Hanna is an emerging writer and student in the meantime. She is a Bert C. Bach Fine & Performing Arts Scholar at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and will graduate in the spring with a B.A. in Anthropology and English. Her poems have appeared in Mudroom Magazine, Eunoia Review, and more, alongside ETSU’s own The Mockingbird, where her poem “dream journal” won the Prize for Poetry in 2024. Currently, she is working on her thesis, a collection of lyric essays which is slated for completion in the spring. When not on campus, you can find her having dinner with friends or exploring the mountains. Discover her work at https://linktr.ee/qoetry.
About Josh Martin
Joshua Martin is the author of Earth of Inedible Things. In addition to winning the 2024 Pinch Literary Award in Poetry and the 2024 MacGuffin Poetry Prize, he’s published or has work forthcoming in The Pinch, The Bitter Southerner, The Los Angeles Review, storySouth, The Baltimore Review, Rattle, The Baltimore Review, and elsewhere. Learn more at www.joshualmartin.com or on socials: instagram handle @guerrilla_lens and @jmartin_poet on X.