The Alexander Muse 2011 Has Arrived!

Hi All!

What a joyful celebration on Tuesday, April 19 at The Spilled Bean when we introduced the 2011 edition of The Alexander Muse! Over 100 folks joined us with delicious snacks provided by the Alexander Friends of the Library and rocking music by Band of Music (thanks for stepping in, guys!) and local favorite, Below Freezing.

The poetry, prose, and art pieces were stunning this year! Ms. Duncan, Ms. Is, and I are so proud of the teens who contributed to the work. You guys rock!

We thank the judges who gave of their time to help determine the winners. Judges for this year’s magazine were: For art - Martha Burgin, Bud Caywood, and Kate Worm; for prose - Joyce Hostetter, Tim Peeler, and Gary Bebber.

Poetry judges were North Carolina Poet Laureate, Cathy Smith Bowers, Nancy Posey, Ann Chandonnet, and Doris Stephens. There were 28 prose entries, 54 art entries, and 64 poems that were judged.

Winners in the art category were: 1st Place and the cover page, Dallas Perry with “Landscape”; 2nd Place and the back cover, Rebecca Chapman with “Element in Time”; 3rd Place and the title page, Christina St. Clair with “Brighten Up”. Honorable Mentions in art were Carolina Arias, Kristin Collins, Louis Miller, William Vannoy, and Hunter Wiseman.

In the poetry category, winners were: 1st Place, Christy Vaughn with “Does Rain Free-Fall?”; 2nd Place, John Harriman with “Burning Buildings”; and 3rd Place, Erica Burley with “the fly on the trash”. Honorable Mentions in poetry were Abigail Keller, Harlee Korte, India McWhorter, Ashleigh Reid, and Adonna Smith.

Those who placed in the prose category were: 1st Place, “Eerie Setting” by Josh Bowman; 2nd Place, “Prose of Captain Acid” by Alan-Michael Bresch; and 3rd Place, “Unearthly Visitors” by Jordan Cruz. Honorable mentions in the prose category were Kandace Allen, Chace Carswell, Devin Mitchell, Justin Owenby, and Brittany Sullivan.

1st Place winners received a $25 gift card provided by Wal-Mart of Taylorsville. 2nd place winners received a $15 gift card for The Spilled Bean provided by the Alexander Friends of the Library. A $5 gift card for The Spilled Bean was provided for the 3rd Place winners by The Spilled Bean.

Honorable Mentions received a free scoop of ice cream provided by The Spilled Bean. The Alexander Muse wishes to thank these organizations that provided prizes. And a special thank you goes to the Alexander Friends of the Library for sponsoring this year's publication!

Also, thank you Tim Panza and The Spilled Bean for hosting us all year. Thanks to The Taylorsville Times as well for doing a great job printing The Alexander Muse!

We will have a May TPH - our final meeting of the year :( - on May 10 at 3:30 pm at The Spilled Bean. Hope everyone can make it.

Have a blessed Easter!

Mel