Townsend places first in international poetry contest
Released: October 10, 2007
For many writers, their stories and poems mirror their personal experiences. This is the case in Alison Townsend's poem, "Persephone at the Crosswalk," which recently won the "River Styx" International Poetry Contest.
"Wining the prize was wonderful, a total surprise and a real affirmation of a poem that, while it had always been close to my heart, felt very quiet and inward," Townsend said. An associate professor for the languages and literatures department, she teaches English, creative writing and women's studies courses.
In "Persephone at the Crosswalk," the narrator, who is on her way to the library in her small, Wisconsin town, encounters a young girl just leaving the library. They stand across the street from one another, waiting for the light to change, and the narrator is reminded of a child she could have had, but lost, many years in the past. There's a mysterious sense of connection and communication between the woman and the girl, though they don't say a word to one another.
"As the chair of the department of languages and literatures, I am thrilled to have Alison as a friend, a colleague and a member of the department. Recently Alison has achieved national recognition for her poetry, last year for a poem that was included in the anthology Best American Poetry 2006 and this year for her first place award in the River Styx International Poetry Contest. With these honors, I think she is on her way to becoming one of the nation's preeminent poets,"George Savage said.
Savage added, "I wish also to recognize Alison's many other contributions to the department and university, both in service and in her remarkable record of teaching. She is dedicated and talented, an inspiration to us all." The poem will appear in the fall 2007 issue of "River Styx."
- Laura Plamann,plamannle06@uww.edu
