Without any further adieu, let’s make a toast to the grand winner of the Dawn of the day poetry contest 2021:

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VALERIE SOPHER – MAKE THE WORLD COME TO YOU

Valerie Sopher found her poetic voice while sheltering in place. She is grateful to these journals
for publishing her poems: Wingless Dreamer (Shakespeare of today), SLANT, Prometheus
Dreaming, and Canary. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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And here are our top finalists whose works left our judging panelists and editors speechless. Well done!

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KATRINA KAYE – AUGUST AFTERNOON

Katrina Kaye is a writer and educator living in Albuquerque, NM. She is seeking an audience for her ever-growing surplus of poetic meanderings. She hoards her published writing on her website: ironandsulfur.com. She is grateful to anyone who reads her work and is in awe of those willing to share it.

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SPENCER DAVIS – DEPRESSANT YOU ON WHEATBELT ROADS

Spencer Davis is an emerging Western Australian poet who works at a secondary private school as Head of English. His work has previously featured in Cottonmouth, TROVE, and The Vital Sparks, among other online publication spaces. He is currently interested in the impact of using parenthetical elements in poetry and counts Whitman, Auden, and Kingsolver as his primary influences.

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BREE LETO – PATHS OF MYSTERY

Bree Leto is an Australian poet who writes to connect with the hearts of people and give their secrets a voice. She has a propensity for whimsy, exploring hidden desires and buried emotions. Bree recently self-published her debuted poetry book, All Our Secrets and has been published in a number of anthologies and online literary journals including: League of Poets, Spillwords Press, Sad Girls Club Lit, City Limits Publishing, Poets’ Choice and PureHaiku. Enjoy more of her work at www.secretthoughtswithin.com or on IG: @secretthoughtswithin

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PRATEEKSHA JOSHI – UNDULATING BEAUTY

Prateeksha Joshi is an amateur writer from India. She majored in English Literature at the University of Delhi. She lives across the country and has a dog named Pudgy. She also loves singing and writing songs.

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V S BALAKRISHNAN – THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY

V S Balakrishnan is a BA English graduate writing from Tamil Nadu, India. He is 30 years old. He is fond of writing poems right from his school days and he writes in both English and his mother-tongue Tamil and has self-published a poetry chapbook in both. His works have appeared in Pif Magazine, Better than Starbucks Magazine, Plants and Poetry Journal, Poets Choice, Castello Duino Poesia, The Wire’s Dream Magazine, Coffee People Zine, Unstamatic Magazine, and Dissident Voice. Besides writing, he is also interested in gardening and painting as well.

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OLIVIA LEE STOGNER – SILVER SPLINTERS

Olivia Lee is a poet, novelist, playwright, and English professor. She has published two novels. Her poetry has been published by Writing for Peace-DoveTales, Sonnets for Shakespeare, Haunted Waters Press, Wild Roof Journal, Underwood Press, and the Closed Eye Open, among others. Her play, In Emma’s Rendell Attic, had a pre-pandemic stage reading and was well received. She is committed to social justice work and supporting Fair Trade companies. She enjoys traveling, books, art, listening to music, walking in the woods, and spending time with her sister, Suzie, and their two dogs, George MacDonald and Keeper. Connect: instagram@ladyolivialee

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CHARLES YAW NYAME NEWTON- POMAA

Charles Yaw Nyame Newton is a TEFL teacher who enjoys writing screenplays, short stories, and poetry. When he’s not writing, he’s probably playing the piano.

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