Announcing the Split Lip Poetry Contest Vol. 1 Winners!

We are thrilled to share the results of the Split Lip Poetry Contest Vol. 1! We received so many wonderful entries, and narrowing down to a final 10 to send to judge Paige Lewis was no easy feat. Of those ten finalists, Paige has chosen the first, second and third place winners. Here's what Paige had to say about each poem:

1st place:
“Why I Waited to Report”
by Ellie Black

There were so many moments in this poem that made me take a deep breath before continuing. What I found especially striking is how this poem points out the limitations of language—how it addresses the fact that talking about harm does not eradicate that harm, “when I finally said it    all that changed / was everything    which felt no different / and wasn’t enough.”   

2nd place:
“A Flutter Caged by Costillas”
by Valorie Ruiz

This poem’s opening line, “I’m trying to glide away from this body,” is a poem in and of itself, but I’m so grateful that the poet kept writing about the ways in which the body isn’t big enough to contain the speaker. I want to quote all my favorite lines from this poem, but if I did that I’d just end up quoting the poem in its entirety.

3rd place:
“Things Without Mouths: An Index”
by Sophie Paquette 

I was immediately drawn to “Things Without Mouths: An Index” because of how well the form fit the content of the poem. The speaker’s desire for some semblance of control—over their life, over their body—is reflected through this act of cataloguing mouthless things. This poem asks for our close attention and offers beautiful, carefully chosen language in return.

Congratulations to Ellie, Valorie, and Sophie! Ellie's poem will be featured in our 2019 print issue -- be on the lookout for preorder details! 

We also want to congratulate the poets who were finalists in the contest. In alphabetical order:

Sarah Bates
Aeon Ginsberg
Andrew Hachey
Rebekkah LaBlue
Riley Leight
Michael Oliphant
Duncan Slagle

Once again, congratulations to the winners and finalists and huge, huge, huge thank you to all who entered and shared their work with us!