Penrose Poetry Prize: Awarded for Excellence in Poetry from LGBTQIA+ Writers
$200, $100, and $50 cash awards to three winners with works to be published in special Penrose volumes of Oroboro, with a special note on the first place work from our guest judge.
From Guest Judge Mateo Lara on Submissions: “These poems were so excellent, and it was so hard to choose from. Everyone has such a strong voice. Filled with magic and energy that deserves to be heard. I hope you submit them to other contests and poetry journals.”
From the Editors: “The sincerest thank you to everyone who submitted and were so gracious to us with their work— We had an incredible time getting to know everyone through their writing and are very excited to be able to honor these artists in this way. We hope you enjoy and savor this special issue of Oroboro as much as we do.”
On First Place Winner: Zara Jamshed’s ‘aqiqa’ and ‘queeristan’
- From Judge Mateo Lara
“Jamshed ends their poem ‘aqiqa’ by saying “I build my own blessing over, and over again.”, this incantation moves throughout their two poems. The movement in opposites and dualities really shines through the unearthing/understaning of their identities. Moving from familial complications in ‘aqiqa’ towards the personal conflict in ‘queeristan’. Jamshed fights every day to exist in this world as themselves and finds hope.
They end ‘queeristan’ with the chant:
“in this nation, everyone makes it home safely
in this nation, everyone makes it home
in this nation, everyone makes it”
The energy that exudes between each line helps paint the image of existence dealing with generational trauma and diaspora. Moving through learning the self and thinking of those who lived before, these poems exhibit the true nature of identity and existence. Whether one shares a similar background or not, Jamshed provides a universal take on the family experience with accepting identity and learning to accept one’s self in the journey of growth. These poems exude the LGBTQ+ experience, sharing the hardships in more than one intersection that queer people must juggle to live their lives the way everyone should be able to. Happy and Free and Full and Safe. I am excited to see what they write next.”
About the Judge: Mateo Lara is a queer, Latinx poet from California. They received their M.F.A. in Poetry at Randolph College. They are an editor for RabidOak Online Literary Journal. They have a chapbook, Glitter Gods, published with Thirty West Publishing House. They are currently working on their full-length poetry book. They have been published in EOAGH, Empty Mirror, and elsewhere. Read more here, here, and here.