Celebrating the Second Annual Annette Allen Poetry Prize
L to R: Clare Kramer, Logan Funderburg, Julie Marie Wade, Diana Wilder, Flora K. Schildknecht, Lynda Mercer, Robert Eric Shoemaker, Johnathan Hebron (reading for Preeti Tanwani), Eddie Hickerson
February 24, 2024
Today, the Second Annual Annette Allen Poetry Prize (AAPP) reading at the Fifty-First Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture celebrated the poetry of five awarded student writers: runners up Kel Proctor and Logan Funderburg (both of Bellarmine University); honorable mentions Preeti Tanwani (UofL) and Eddie Hickerson (Kentucky College of Art + Design); and prize winner Clare Kramer (Bellarmine University). The reading was hosted by the University Writing Center in Ekstrom Library.
The AAPP 2023–2024 judge was Dr. Julie Marie Wade (Florida International University). In addition to readings of the awarded poems by the student writers and their representatives, Dr. Wade and the incoming 2024–2025 judge, Dr. Robert Eric Shoemaker (Poetry Foundation), read selected poems by Dr. Allen. Both Dr. Wade and Dr. Shoemaker are alumni of the Humanities Doctoral Program, and there was a palpable sense of fellowship and comradery at the reading.
A Humanities graduate student- and alumni-led initiative, the AAPP is an annual award open to all university students in the Louisville Metro area. The prize provides cash awards to the prize winner and honorable mentions and publication of the prize-winning poem in The Louisville Review.
The AAPP honors the late Dr. Annette Allen, who was instrumental in establishing the Humanities PhD at UofL. Funded by Humanities alumni and Dr. Allen’s friends and family, the prize is supported by AHA, UofL’s Humanities graduate student organization. Current Humanities doctoral candidate Flora K. Schildknecht chaired this year’s prize, and Humanities doctoral student Diana Wilder served as treasurer and will chair the 2024–2025 prize. Humanities alumna Dr. Lynda Mercer serves as prize communications director.
For more information or to donate, please visit https://donorbox.org/dr-annette-allen-creativity-prize-fund.
To view more pictures from recent AAPP readings, please visit https://annetteallenpoetryprize.myportfolio.com/annette-allen-poetry-celebration-2023.
