Today on My Poetic Side we look at the winner of this year’s Milkwood Poetry Prize, the Worcester Poetry Trail and the Google Doodle celebrating a Russian poet.

Milkweed Poetry Prize 2020

St Paul Poet, Michael Kleber-Diggs has been awarded this year’s Milkweed Editions Max Ritvo Poetry Award, which has a cash award of $10,000. His winning work is “Worldly Things”, his debut collection.

Kleber-Diggs is a teacher of creative non-fiction and poetry with the Minnesota Prison Writer’s Workshop. His poems have been published in a number of magazines previously.

The judges felt that his winning manuscript was a gentle nudge to America to live up to their ideals, and it gave a voice to the aspirations and experiences of middle-class Black America.

The prize is awarded in honour of Max Ritvo the late Milkweed poet who was the author of “Four Incarnations”. Kleber-Diggs collection will be published by the Minneapolis based publisher, Milkweed, in June 2021.

Google Doodle Celebrates Ivan Bunin

On the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of his birth, Google Doodle are celebrating the poet, translator, and novelist Ivan Bunin. Bunin was the first Russian to receive a Nobel Prize for Literature which he was awarded in 1933.

The writer is usually acclaimed for this mastery of both prose and poetry. He was a master of conveying the custom of traditional Russian writing during the 20^th century.

Born in Voronezh in the heart of western Russia 1870 Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin grew up with an interest in painting. This is something that he later credited as an influence on his writing style.

His first book was created between 1887 and 1891. In 1901 he was awarded the Academy of Sciences’ Pushkin Prize for “Listopad” (Falling Leaves), it was at this time that he began to turn his attention to prose, a move which saw him becoming one of the most famous journalists in the country.

The works that followed were inspired by his almost musical composing style and made a stunning representation of Russia. These include “Zhizn Arsenyeva” (The Life of Arseniey) an autobiographical novel, his journals, and a book of short stories.

Bunin was a rival of the Russian Revolution and in 1920 he left Russia to settle in France. He lived here for the rest of his life distributing poetry and books.

The doodle depicts a man sitting under an autumnal tree. He is wearing typical Russian garments for the era. There is a small group of buildings in the background and in reference to the poet’s award-winning work “Listopad,” there are animated autumnal leaves falling from the trees around him.

Worcester Poetry Trail

In an effort to encourage visitors to Worchester city centre and support local independent traders, a poetry trail has been launched. The trail is the idea of the new poet laureate for the area.

As part of national poetry month, there will be six poems displayed around the city in prominent places. These will feature celebrations of the city and uplifting verses. People will be able to scan a QR code on each one to enter a prize draw.