Tupelo Press First Book Competition
Faculty Mentor Carol Ann Davis and Student Elizabeth Stephenson, Editorial Intern in Poetry
New Development: The Crazyhorse/Tupelo Press Publishing Institute
This year for the first time, Crazyhorse editors have been asked to act as judges in the Tupelo Press First Book competition, an opportunity that expands Crazyhorse’s editorial reach into the realm of book publication. Coinciding with this development is the launching of the Crazyhorse/Tupelo Press Publishing Institute, a graduate-credit-granting institute to occur every June and which will give students from around the country the chance to participate in the judging process for the first book competition.
These new developments offered the Crazyhorse Editorial Intern in Poetry (Elizabeth Stephenson) some exciting opportunities: rather than having Ms. Stephenson’s aesthetic training focus solely on the choosing of manuscripts from the slush pile at Crazyhorse (as had previous interns), she also had the opportunity to read whole manuscripts of poems and to think about how a collection of poems is put together. Because the poems within all submitted book prize entries will also be considered for publication in the magazine, Ms. Stephenson, by screening individual poems in the first-book-competition manuscripts for suitability for publication in Crazyhorse, was also preparing the Crazyhorse issue which she will present at the Associated Writing Programs Conference in January 2008.
I enjoyed embarking on this new project with Elizabeth at my side. I chose her because of her seriousness and devotion to poetry, and I was right: she is devoted entirely to the authentic expression she finds in poetry, and because she is, she keeps me honest in my editorial life. I check my own reactions against hers.
—Carol Ann Davis
Reading for the Tupelo Press First Book Award: Impressions
While reading the manuscripts for the Tupelo Press First Book Award, I shared the same anticipation and passion for poetry of those who submitted. Initially, the stacks of manuscripts were intimidating—the task of sifting through pages and pages for a finalist seemed daunting. I began to question my standards in poetry. What made a good poem? What determined if a manuscript was ‘passable’ or ‘extraordinary’?
There was no one exact answer. But through this reading process and wisdom from contemporary poets and editors, I learned that exceptional language is haunting—it draws you in, makes you forget the weather outside, the chair you’re sitting in, the last thing you said and—for a moment—you are afraid to leave the poem, afraid to turn the page.
—Elizabeth Stephenson