Snarl is delighted to announce that Final Judge Diane Glancy has selected Lev Smyth’s poem, “Transgender Blues #1, Summer” as the winner of Snarl’s inaugural poetry contest! Congratulations to all the writers who made it to the finalist round. Here is what Diane had to say about Lev’s winning poem:
“This poem is a journey through the unexpected. It is an inclusion of variables. It moves from the narrative to the associative and back again, keeping the reader in expectation of the next incoming wave. I like the risk-taking of combining subjects. Transgender Blues #1, Summer is a story formed by incongruities. I like the way the poem talks about a subject by talking around it.”
Lev Smyth is a poor, queer writer based in Little Rock, AR. His experiences living alone in the American West, Midwest, and South have served as the greatest inspiration for his writing and art. Currently, he is pursuing a graduate degree and can often be found at the local dog park, on the trail, or studying in his office. Lev can also be found at @like_lever on Instagram and Twitter.
Lev’s poetry will be published in Snarl Issue Four: Fall 2022. Our runners-up, honorable mention, and finalists will also be published in either Issue Four or Issue Five! Pre-order Issue Four at our Square Site or in Submittable.
2022 Snarl Poetry Contest Winner:
“Transgender Blues #1, Summer” by Lev Smyth
2022 Snarl Poetry Contest Runners-Up:
“heaven hopscotch” by Rebby Onken
“Fire Weather” by Christine Barkley
“Side Wounds and Paper Moons” by Quinn Rennerfeldt
“I’d Rather be Dead Than in Your Shoes” by Jennifer Ruth Jackson
Honorable Mention:
“Warning: Strong Currents, Shifting Sands” by Christine Barkley
Finalists:
“Trying to Speak Metaphor to the Rape Investigator” by Caroline Carpenter
“The Sounds of Disability” by Emily Deaton
“The 38th in Parallel” by Katie R. Yen
“On Returning to a Country One Has Lost” by Violeta Orozco
“dream in which i do what they want” by Edythe Rodriguez
“No Sting Lasts Forever” by Ivy Raff
“The Harmful Custom of a Birthing” by Nnadi Samuel
“Clink” by Gregory McGreevy
“Sorry your daughter’s a dyke” by Han Mallek
“Among the Cattails” by Alex Tretbar
“Blueberry Fields” by E.W.I. Johnson
“F_o_r_ _F_a_t_ _B_l_a_c_k_ _G_i_r_l_s_ _D_e_n_i_e_d” by Kelsey Smoot
“To Paraphrase Marx” by Artemisio Romero y Carver
“Exchange Rate of a Pound” by Jessica Mehta
We will announce the results of our 2022 Prose Contest in the coming days. Thank you again to all who submitted to our inaugural contests and congrats to our finalists!
Snarl 