Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest Celebrates National Poetry Month
Tuesday | April 18 | 6:30-9 pm
Blue Heron Coffeehouse | 162 W 2nd St.
sonnetcontest.org
The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest invites you to celebrate the opening of this year’s contest and National Poetry Month on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the Blue Heron Coffeehouse (162 W 2nd St.). Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public. Live music by flute and piano duo Heidi Bryant and Meredith Mihm will accompany social time starting at 6:30pm.
At 7:00pm, former Winona Poet Laureate Jim Armstrong will share his life-long fascination with the sonnet form. He will present a brief introduction to the modern sonnet and show how it can be used as an aid to invention and discovery. Armstrong will give examples from his own work, including some sonnets from his new book (coming in June). He will also perform a couple of famous sonnets (including one by Shakespeare) which he has set to music—reminding us that “sonnet” just means “little song” in Italian. Can we all write our own little songs? Of course we can. Come ready to be inspired.
About the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest:
The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is an annual event that welcomes entries from around the world to Winona. The 2022 contest received a total of 700 sonnets from poets in 43 US states and 10 other countries. Prizes totaling $3,200 were awarded in four categories: Top Four, Regional, Youth, and Laureates’ Choice.
The contest honors the memory of Maria W. Faust: a Winona State University graduate in Communications; a twenty-year resident of Winona; an avid supporter of varied local arts; and a lover of poetry. Maria’s husband, Ted Haaland, is the contest’s benefactor, with the goal of keeping Maria’s love of poetry alive in our community and beyond.
The judges’ panel includes Winona’s Poets Laureate James Armstrong, Ken McCullough and Emilio DeGrazia, and Leslie Schultz of Northfield, MN. Heidi Bryant is the managing director of the contest. Great River Shakespeare Festival and River Arts Alliance are partners.
To learn more about the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, please visit sonnetcontest.org or email entries@sonnetcontest.org. Information about National Poetry Month is available at poets.org/national-poetry-month.
Photo: James Armstrong.
River Arts Alliance serves as fiscal sponsor of the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest. Heidi Bryant, James Armstrong, Ted Haaland, Ken McCullough, Emilio DeGrazia, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival are members of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/.