The Town of Pelham Public Library Announces the
Fifth Annual James J. Nicholson Political Poetry Prize

POSTED: JANUARY 2012

The Town of Pelham Public Library is accepting entries for its annual James J. Nicholson Political Poetry Prize competition. The competition, now in its fifth year, consists of three categories: one each for Pelham Memorial High School students and Pelham Middle School students, and one for adults over the age of 18 who reside in Westchester County. Individuals fitting these categories are invited to enter the contest. The winner of the adult competition will receive a cash prize of $500. The winner of the high school competition will receive a cash prize of $150, and a cash prize of $100 will be awarded to the winner of the middle school competition.

The Judge of this year’s adult competition is poet Joshua Mehigan. Born in 1969, Mehigan’s first book, The Optimist (Ohio Univ. Press, 2004), was winner of the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize and one of five finalists for a 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His poems have been featured in many periodicals, including Poetry, The New York Times, and The New Republic, and on Poetry Daily and The Writer’s Almanac. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York, where he works as a teaching fellow at Brooklyn College. Mehigan also is the recipient of a 2011 NEA Fellowship.

Additionally, Mehigan is a 2005 Pushcart Prize winner and currently an Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellow at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (2010–2014), where from 2009 to 2010, he was a Humanities Fellow. During 2008, he was an op-ed contributor to “The Measure of Democracy,” with publication of his poem “The Polling Place,” included as part of an election feature in The New York Times, on Nov. 5. Mehigan also is a former volunteer tutor of ESL and English for Bellevue/NYU Center for Survivors of Torture in New York City. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Sarah Lawrence College.

The poetry awards program at the Town of Pelham Public Library was established in loving memory of long-time resident James J. Nicholson by relatives and friends and is currently funded by his widow, Peggy Nicholson, and family.

James J. Nicholson, known fondly as Jim, contributed significantly to the creation of the Town Library. He co-chaired the Friends of the Library fundraising campaign that culminated in the dedication of the library is 1995, and served on the Library Board of Trustees for a decade.

“We are very happy that Joshua Mehigan has agreed to judge the adult category of our competition,” said Mrs. Nicholson. “I also think that Jim would be thrilled to know that adults, teens and children are being motivated to convey their thoughts on political issues through poetry, as these were two things he loved dearly.

A jury of poets and poetry readers will select the winning student poems. The deadline for entries is President’s Day, Monday, February 20, 2012. Winners and runners-up will be invited to a reading and reception at the Town of Pelham Public Library in April, 2012. For complete contest rules and information on how to submit a poem, visit www.pelhamlibrary.org/poetry.html

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