The Jack Powers Prize--A Press Release by Gordon Marshall

The Jack Powers prize is to be awarded annually, beginning in August 2009, to a poet who has made a distinguished contribution to stone soup Poets, through their commitment to the art of poetry, and the power, subtlety and quality of their work.

No publication is necessary; nor is submission of any written text required. Simple presence at Stone Soup, together with dedicated recitation, are the criteria.

The prize is named in honor of Stone Soup’s great founder, who has served the Boston and Cambridge communities as a mentor and champion of new, aspiring, and developing poets since 1971, which service, rendered unflaggingly and humbly, has defined Boston’s identity as a poetry town for four decades.

The prize is to be administered henceforth by Powers’ successor as Stone Soup leader Chad Parenteau, whose faithfulness to the former’s mission has assured that the city will remain a template and an exemplar to the national United States poetry scene.

A monetary sum in the amount of $100usd will accompany the distinction, to be funded by the proceeds of Gordon Marshall’s third published volume of poetry, Chord. This is in recognition of Powers’ and Parenteau’s support and advocacy of Marshall’s career as a poet.