The four winners of the 2009 “Discovery"/Boston Review poetry contest are: Bridget Lowe of Syracuse, NY; Jynne Dilling Martin of Brooklyn, NY; Jeffrey Schultz of Los Angeles, CA; and Annabelle Yeeseul Yoo of New York, NY. The Joan Leiman Jacobson Poetry Prizes are, for the second year, presented by Boston Review poetry editor Timothy Donnelly, who wrote the contest “recognizes and celebrates the achievements of poets who have not yet published a first book.” Past “Discovery” winners Mary Jo Bang (pictured) and Mark Strand are judging this year, as well as Terrance Hayes. On May 11, you can join the winners at the Unterberg Poetry Center on where they will read from their work.

With the 2009 PEN World Voices Festival events this month as well, it feels like a literary tournament of champions has been taking place within these walls lately. One of our poetry instructors Jeanne Marie Beaumont was featured on the website, Poems for the First 100 Days, and the Poetry Center’s official photographer Nancy Crampton has a show up featuring her photographs literary heavyweights. It’s like March Madness for the literary set around here! Or maybe not that mad, but still, that’s a lot of literary lights, camera, action!