Michael T. Young of Jersey City, New Jersey, has been named co-winner of the 2014 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award for his third poetry collection, "Living in the Counterpoint." He shares the award with Kyle Potvin of Derry, New Hamshire, who received it for her debut poetry collection, "Sound Travels on Water." This year's judge was poet David Ellis. Both collections were published by Finishing Line Press of Georgetown, Kentucky.
The Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award is given for the best chapbook published in the previous two years. A chapbook is small poetry collection usually under forty pages in length and typically published as a pamphlet. Started in 2008, the Pedrick Award is administered by the New England Poetry Club. Founded in 1915 by poets Amy Lowell, Robert Frost and Conrad Aiken, the New England Poetry Club is the oldest poetry reading series in America.
Michael T. Young has published two other collections, an earlier chapbook, "Because the Wind Has Questions" (Somers Rocks Press, 1997), and a full-length collection of poems, titled "Transcriptions of Daylight" (Rattapallax Press, 2000). Advance copies of his latest book, "The Beautiful Moment of Being Lost," are available from New Jersey's Hoboken-based publisher Poets Wear Prada. Young has received a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Chaffin Poetry Award. He was also a recipient of a William Stafford Award.
"Living in the Counterpoint" was published by Finishing Line Press in 2012. "The book explores how we identify who we are, best, in the context of what we are not. The central theme of the collection is the necessity of taking risk in self-exploration. It's similar to the odd way that candies are made better-tasting by adding a little spice to them," said author Michael T. Young. "Living in the Counterpoint" is a prelude to Young's latest full-length collection, "The Beautiful Moment of Being Lost," which continues his poetic exploration of self-identity and risk.
Both co-winners will each receive $100 and are invited to read at New England Poetry Club.
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