No. 1 RELIGIOUS POEM Judge: The Reverend Geoffrey Rimositis
1st Becky Alexander, “Surprise!” Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
2nd Camille Balla, “At the River,” Lisle, IL
3rd Mardelle Fortier, “So Far North, So Light,” Lisle, IL
1st HM Caroline Johnson, “Playing with Fire,” Willow Springs, IL
2nd HM John F. Foster, “Sharing,” Sun City Center, FL
3rd HM Charlotte Hart, “Blue Star,” Evanston, IL
No. 2 HUMOROUS POEM Judge: Joyce Shiver
1st John F. Foster, “Ode to Grampa,” Sun City Center, FL
2nd Barbara Blanks, “Avoiding a Chore on a Summer Morning,” Garland, TX
3rd Beverly Stanislawski, “Poop Scoop,” Crown Point, IN
1st HM Gail Vescovi, “Not in Kansas,” Oak Brook, IL
2nd HM Becky Alexander, “A Conversation with Jack,” Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
3rd HM Von S. Bourland, “Having the Last Word,” Happy, TX
No. 3 FORMAL VERSE Judge: Kathleen McClung
1st Lee Pelham Cotton, “Jasper and Lloyd Go Over the Top,” Locust Hill, VA
2nd Madelyn Eastlund, “From a Frayed Journal,” Beverly Hills, FL
3rd Barbara Blanks, “The Absence,” Garland, TX
1st HM Maureen Flannery, “Have You Noticed an Absence of Cacophony,” Evanston, IL
2nd HM Caroline Johnson, “Ghazal for Brenda,” Willow Springs, IL
3rd HM D. Beecher Smith II, “Ode to Aging,” Memphis, TN
No. 4 FREE VERSE Judge: John Lehman
1st Mardelle Fortier, “Bride in the Elevator,” Lisle, IL
2nd Gail Denham, “If I Left for the Day After Tomorrow,” Sunriver, OR
3rd Judith Tullis, “I Write Poetry Because…” Indian Head Park, IL
1st HM Vera Ogden Bakker, “Inside these Walls,” West Bountiful, UT
2nd HM Gail Vescovi, “pocket poem,” Oak Brook, IL
3rd HM Sheila Elliott, “The Beauty in Disregarded Things,” Oak Park, IL
No. 5 SOCIAL CONSCIENCE Judge: Rebecca Kanan
1st Maureen Flannery, “The Dictator-General and the Never Born,” Evanston, IL
2nd Curt Vevang, “Walk With Me,” Palatine, IL
3rd Caroline Johnson, “Der Schrei,” Willow Springs, IL
1st HM David Nekimken, “Color Me Black,” Chicago, IL
2nd HM Donna Pucciani, “After the Fourth,” Wheaton, IL
3rd HM Judith Tullis, “Mules,” Indian Head Park, IL
No. 6 MINIATURE POEM Judge: Linda Bamber
1st Gay Guard-Chamberlin, “Suggestion for the Hall of Extinction,” Chicago, IL
2nd John F. Foster, “Feeling,” Sun City Center, FL
3rd Catherine Moran, “Of poodles and poems,” Little Rock, AR
1st HM Gail Denham, “Drying Lard,” Sunriver, OR
2nd HM Maureen Flannery, “Custody,” Evanston, IL
3rd HM Mardelle Fortier, “Starry Night of Iceland,” Lisle, IL
No. 7 NATURE Judge: Patricia Eaton
1st Wilda Morris, “More than Memories,” Bolingbrook, IL
2nd Ellaraine Lockie, “On the Road After a Record Rain,” Sunnyvale, CA
3rd Sharon Warner, “Oil and Water,” Chicago, IL
1st HM David Nekimken, “Autumn Portrait,” Chicago, IL
2nd HM Deborah Rohde, “At Peggy Notebeart Nature Museum,” Northbrook, IL
3rd HM Caroline Johnson, “A Foreigner Encountering the Dawn for the First Time,” Willow Springs, IL
No. 8 MIDWEST THEME Judge: Alan Harris
1st David Spencer, “Iowa Trilogy,” Lansing, IL
2nd Maureen Flannery, “Night Crawler in Mid America Farm Country,” Evanston, IL
3rd Wilda Morris, “Not April!” Bolingbrook, IL
1st HM Donna Pucciani, “Snow Globe,” Wheaton, IL
2nd HM Caroline Johnson, “The Birdwatcher,” Willow Springs, IL
3rd HM David Nekimken, “A Lake in the Hills Morning,” Chicago, IL
No. 9 CHICAGO ART/ARCHITECTURE Judge: Catherine Moran
1st Caroline Johnson, “Outsider Art,” Willow Springs, IL
2nd Mardelle Fortier, “A Chicago Van Gogh: Bridge over Time,” Lisle, IL
3rd Charlotte Digregorio, “Urban Pasture for the Divine Bovine,” Winnetka, IL
1st HM Donna Pucciani, “Open Rehearsal,” Wheaton, IL
2nd HM David Nekimken, “Mountain Climbing,” Chicago, IL
3rd HM Wilda Morris, “The Old Guitarist,” Bolingbrook, IL
No. 10 CHICAGO NEWS, POLITICS, HISTORY Judge: Jared Smith
1st Maureen Flannery, “Last Native Speakers of Aramaic,” Evanston, IL
2nd Judith Tullis, “How the World Changed in 1944,” Indian Head Park, IL
3rd Caroline Johnson, “Nowruz in Chicago,” Willow Springs, IL
1st HM Wilda Morris, “Oh, Rats!” Bolingbrook, IL
2nd HM Curt Vevang, “Memories Enriched by Time,” Palatine, IL
3rd HM Mardelle Fortier, “My Mafia Doctor: One Man Remembers,” Lisle, IL
No. 11 CHICAGOLAND WATER Judge: Larry Turner
1st Deborah Rohde, “Enchantment on the Des Plaines River Trail,” Northbrook, IL
2nd Susan Moss, ”Zen By Design At Lee Street Beach,” Evanston, IL
3rd Caroline Johnson, “The I & M Journey,” Willow Springs, IL
1st HM Curt Vevang, “The Lawrence Avenue Rocks,” Palatine, IL
2nd HM Judith Tullis, “Beach Mineralogy,” Indian Head Park, IL
3rd HM Wilda Morris, “Chicago: City on the Lake,” Bolingbrook, IL
No. 12 CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS Judge: Dalene Stull
1st Raymond Ziemer, “I heard They Were Closing St. Casimir’s,” Warrenville, IL
2nd Maureen Flannery, “Ways to Play in Rogers Park,” Evanston, IL
3rd Judith Tullis, “The Fox,” Indian Head Park, IL
1st HM Deborah Rohde, “On South Karlov Avenue,” Northbrook, IL
2nd HM Mardelle Fortier, “Skid Row,” Lisle, IL
3rd HM Curt Vevang, “I Didn’t Know How Bad I Had It,” Palatine, IL