From Judith R. Robinson, a Pittsburgh poet and artist who was recently awarded 1st prize for her poem “A Stream in Late Autumn” by the judges for the 35th Annual Reuben Rose Poetry Competition (hosted by Voices Israel):
“I am thrilled to have received the 35th Reuben Rose Award.
There are many people writing about the ongoing Mid-East conflict. ‘A Stream in Late Autumn’ is not a political poem, nor is it an anti-war poem. It is a lyrical poem about the knowledge all humans possess, that our lives are finite, that if we’re fortunate we grow old, that we are mortal. Death, as Wallace Stevens wisely noted, is the mother of beauty. If life was unending we would not cherish it as we do, nor would we feel so compelled to create, celebrate, and leave proof of our existence. It is a great compliment to me, and to the poem, that the judges chose to forego a war-related poem this difficult year.
I will be reading the ‘A Stream in Late Autumn’ in Pittsburgh very soon!
Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange—which marked its 50th year anniversary in 2024 with celebrations and the release of “50” An Anthology of Poetry—holds four seasonal poetry readings per year. The upcoming reading, ‘Winter Wonderland,’ will be held on Saturday January 11, 2025, at the Bantha Tea Bar.
I will read the poem there and then (alongside readings by Timons Esaias and Alyssa Sineni)!”
Header image: “The Art of Friendship,” an exhibit of paintings and poetry by Judith R. Robinson and Kara Snyder (curated by Melissa Hiller) just completed a four month run at the Jewish American Museum at the JCC in Pittsburgh.. The example above, “Afternoon,” is a still life in which Robinson incorporated a version of an abstract painting by Kara Snyder.
Previously:
Two Poems from Buy a Ticket: New & Selected Poems by Judith R. Robinson
Four Poems by Gene Hirsch (from Speak, Speak, edited by Judith R. Robinson)
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