We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 8th Annual Coniston Prize: Grace MacNair.
There’s a clear and compelling thread that stitches these poems together. It speaks to the dangers the women who inhabit the poems face—and how the mutations of past dangers linger in present time. These poems are methodically observant and detailed, attuned to the natural world, the world of medicine and science, and the elusive world in between—the wondrous space that poetry can access. I admire the defiance in these poems, the relentlessness, the sharp focus and surprise, how the tight coils of detail unwind: “Cold & clear. The ice has begun to crack & sound like musket fire.” It’s the seeing and the seeking that’s so compelling. With ferocity and aplomb, each poem houses its own kind of anthropological excavation or historical reexamination, its own splendid fight.
—Yona Harvey, Contest Judge
All six poets chosen as finalists this year are worthy of recognition. For Radar Poetry’s editors, every one of these finalists is a winner. We think that if you read the work included in this spectacular issue, you’ll agree—and you’ll want to reserve a spot for our virtual Coniston Prize Reading on October 20th at 7:00pm, hosted by White Whale Books! RSVP for free on Eventbrite.
