Split P Soup :: Poetry for the Community

Split P Soup is a group of local poets, faculty members and graduate students from the University of South Carolina Department of English who want to excite people about writing—especially writing poetry. All of us are published writers and active teachers who have a special interest in teaching the writing of poetry.
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2007 South Carolina Young Poets Prize

VIEW WINNERS, FINALISTS AND SEMI FINALISTS

Dear Participants of SCYP,

On behalf of the SC Poetry Initiative, Split P Soup, Drs. Kwame Dawes, Ed Madden, and Dianne Johnson (this year's judge), I want to extend a very hearty thank you to the schools, teachers, and parents who encouraged these talented poets to submit to the 2007 South Carolina Young Poet's Prize. The competition was especially strong this year. We had 97 entries! That is almost 500 poems! It was an incredible outpouring of talent and you should all be very proud of the work submitted. As Dr. Johnson states, "If I hadn't been told otherwise, it would not have occurred to me that the poems were written by high school students. They are sophisticated, insightful, and memorable--a treat to read, torturous to judge."

The way the contest works:
All entries are judged in the blind. Entry forms received a number and all the poems included in the entry received the same corresponding number. Out of 97 entries, 20 were selected as semi finalists. The selection was based on best group of poems. From those 20 semifinalists, a panel (who wished to remain anonymous) selected the 10 best poems. Essentially they had to select the 10 best poems out of nearly 100 poems. It was a daunting task to say the least. Once the 10 poems were selected, Dr. Dianne Johnson, a talented and well published poet and professor of English at the University of South Carolina, had the extreme challenge of selecting a grand prize winner, first runner up, second runner up, and two honorable mentions.

I could not be more pleased with the turnout for the contest. And I certainly hope that you will consider submitting again next year. You are truly talented and deserve to be recognized as the future torch bearers for South Carolina Poetry. Be proud, and above all, keep writing!

Sincerely,

Ray McManus, Ph.D.
Coordinator
The South Carolina Young Poets Prize

Split P Soup would like to thank the following people and organizations, who have generously provided in-kind help, funding, or moral support during the past year: USC English Department, USC Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, Richland County Public Libraries, Tim McCausland, Kinko's, Brad Stratton, Barbara Thompson and Richland Northeast High School, SC Arts Commission.