C O N T E S T S
2024 Assumption Poetry Contest:
Mary, Queen of Families
Announcing the Winners of the
2024 CLA Assumption Poetry Contest:
Mary, Queen of Families
Congratulations to the finalists and winners of CLA’s 2024 Assumption Poetry Contest!
We thank all who entered into the contest and wrote such excellent work to continue the time-honored conversation of Mary, Queen of Families. The finalists of the contest were: Kristen Coster, Karen D’Anselmi, Mary Elliot, Santiago Acevedo Ferrer, Elisa A. Garza, Maura H. Harrison, V. Paige Parker, and Roseanne T. Sullivan. Please read the winning entries below!
First Place: V. Paige Parker
Second Place: Maura H. Harrison
Third Place: Santiago Acevedo Ferrer
Writing Contest 2024:
Virtual Reading by Winners and Finalists
August 8, 2024, 7:00 p.m. CDT
Join CLA members and friends to celebrate the 2024 Assumption Contest winners and finalists. This year’s judge is award-winning writer Katy Carl.
This year’s contest asked writers to compose poems in honor of Mary: Queen of Families.
Meet Our judge
We are honored to have Katy Carl as our judge this year.
Katy Carl is the author of As Earth Without Water, Fragile Objects, and Praying the Great O Antiphons. A senior affiliate fellow of Penn's Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of St. Thomas-Houston, where she is currently writer in residence.
Third Place
Villanelle for the Queen of Families
by Santiago Acevedo Ferrer
Wait and see to whom the angel salutes:
The only daughter of Anne and Joaquin,
The girl in solar dress and lunar boots.
Let's stay quiet without playing our flutes,
Out of the tree of Jesse flourished a Queen.
Wait and see to whom the angel salutes.
Her domains were her family pursuits,
Satan disparaged this Queen of cuisine:
The girl in solar dress and lunar boots.
Yet only in Her charm, God placed His roots:
The creature begot the Creator clean.
Wait and see to whom the angel salutes.
Who can solve all the family disputes?
Who else can turn off the divorce machine?
The girl in solar dress and lunar boots.
Sing and call her "Mary," let's play our lutes,
Through Her Son's tree families become green.
Wait and see to whom the angel salutes:
The girl in solar dress and lunar boots.
Comments by Katy Carl on Villanelle for the Queen of Families
This piece gives us a Mary we rarely see in verse but need more contact with, as it combines the decisive, confident, proactive Mary of the Visitation, who runs in haste to those who need her, with the glorious Mary of Revelation. This Mary’s undeniable power, a gift from God that points directly back to God, is active as well as contemplative and transforms lives for the better. The playful updating of Marian imagery makes her feel accessible without lowering her dignity, emphasizing Mary’s closeness to every soul that turns to her.
Second Place
Approaching the Stella Matutina
by Maura H. Harrison
Rare Rosa Mystica—God’s earthly flower:
You bloomed at midnight in the piercing cold
And blessed the manger’s hay a hundredfold.
Your fragrance filled the noon, filled Nazareth bower,
And perfect petals kept a sacred heart,
Formed flower’s flower. Maiden, mother-made,
Your death was cloistered, kept in garden shade,
Your tomb was lily strewn and set apart—
Empty of bones and full of song. As rose,
You rose, immaculate breath that listens well
And intercedes on our behalf. You place
Your mantle on the soul, your manger knows
The start and bloom of family, the swell
Of love. Come swaddle all in starry grace.
Comments by Katy Carl on Approaching the Stella Matutina
Another fine example of sonneteering, this piece wove a fine tapestry of imagery worthy of a May-crowning hymn while also keenly attuning itself to the contest’s theme—the feast of the Assumption—where Mary’s death became her uniquely seamless transition to eternal life in Christ. Smooth prosody and clear mastery of form made it another standout.
First Place
Mary’s Breeze
by V. Paige Parker
She greets each morning with a song of trust
In God, and yearns for yawning window’s light.
Broad sweeps of bread crumbs mingled with wool dust
Make chasmal change, that smooths her home aright.
On bended knee, her will and his agree.
She’ll be forever known by her pure yes.
To ponder pain, she prays the Psalms. For he
Has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness.
A holy fire begins with her Son’s birth.
She kisses feet of babies; feeds the poor.
Blessed is she—the meek inherit the earth.
Her living water comes from him, ashore.
Her grandiose heart receives all families.
As queen, she gives her grace-filled, gentle breeze.
Comments by Katy Carl on Mary’s Breeze
This neatly crafted sonnet, as gentle as its name, shone through the field not only on account of its simplicity and gorgeous rhythm but also by the quality of its devotion. Mary’s presence gives dignity to the plainest work, smooths ruffled feathers, cools the overheated soul, and sets all that is upset to rights again.
Contest Information
Assumption Poetry Contest: Mary, Queen of Families
Catholic Literary Arts (CLA) encourages you to write Assumption poems to Mary, in honor of her title as the Queen of Families.
This contest is part of CLA’s focused and ongoing efforts to encourage people to write new work which uses the rich traditions and images of the Catholic faith to bring God into today’s world through the originality of contemporary writing.
The contest opens on June 5, 2024 and closes at 11:59 p.m. July 15, 2024.
Each poem is limited to 48 lines, not including the title and stanza breaks.
Each submission to the contest will be judged according to the beauty of language, expertise of the use of poetic devices, and figural images. In addition, the poetry will be evaluated for resonance with the contest’s theme and the use of Sacred Tradition and devotional Marian sensibility, where applicable.
This Year’s Judge
The judge this year is the award-winning poet and author Katy Carl.
Katy Carl is the author of As Earth Without Water, Fragile Objects, and Praying the Great O Antiphons. A senior affiliate fellow of Penn's Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society, she holds an MFA in fiction from the University of St. Thomas-Houston, where she is currently writer in residence.
Submission Guidelines:
The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. July 15, 2024.
All submissions must be:
typed in 12 point font and submitted through Submittable in a Word file of .doc or .docx.
all work is blind-judged which means that the judge must not see the name of the author. Therefore, the author’s name must not appear on the submission or in the document’s file name.
original work that has not been published online or in a hard copy journal, magazine, or book.
the work must be the original creation of the person submitting the work
there is a line limit to each submission of 48 lines, not including the title or stanza breaks
Submissions Period
This contest opens June 4, 2024 and closes July 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. CST.
Submittable Guidelines
The electronic submissions platform for this contest is Submittable.
In order to use Submittable, you will need to create an account on their website, if you do not already have one. Creation of an account within Submittable is free.
If you have questions or problems with Submittable, please contact their Customer Service directly via their website, submittable.com.
Each writer may enter one poem.
Entry Fees
The entry fee per submission is $15.
Prizes/Awards
Prizes will be awarded in the poetry as follows;
First prize, $75
Second Prize, $50
Third Prize, $25
Winners must complete IRS Form W-9 to receive payment in U.S. dollars.
Celebration for Winners and Finalists
Catholic Literary Arts invites you to a virtual event through Zoom to celebrate the Assumption Poetry Contest’s winners and finalists.
These celebrations occur in a joyous virtual community eager to hear and share the writing of today’s writers of Faith. You’ll walk away inspired to write more yourself, and, we hope, inspired to continue to read and write sacred poetry.
The virtual event will be Thursday, August 8, 2024 at seven p.m. CST. It will last 75 minutes.