Announcing the 2019 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest Winner and Finalists

Congratulations to C. X. Hua, who was selected by judge Ladan Osman as the winner of the 2019 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest! About Hua’s winning poems, Osman wrote:

I kept returning to these poems. They don’t beg for a reader. I could see no way to extract one, to rearrange this sequence. I asked myself “Why these poems?” the same way I might ask “Why do I prefer certain fingers on the piano?” These have a light touch, flexible but precise.

Hua’s winning poems—“Other People,” “Nocturne,” and “France”—appear in our special fall arts issue, Allies. To be among the first to read it, order a copy! For a limited time, use the code “ALLY20” at checkout to receive 20% off and free shipping.

Osman also selected five finalists:

• Meredith Stricker
• Hazem Fahmy
• Precious Arinze
• Rosa Martinez
• R Brown

Stricker’s and Fahmy’s poems appear in Allies alongside Hua’s; work by the other finalists will appear on our website this fall.

As well, there were five semifinalists, whose work will appear on Boston Review’s website in coming months:

• Kelly Butler
• Anishka Duggal
• K. Avvirin Gray
• Caio Kaufman
• Jake Orbison
• Craig Sullender

Congratulations to Hua, as well as all the finalists and semifinalists! We’re grateful for the support of everyone who entered!