Non-fiction: S. Aurin Haber Literary Analysis: Allison Smith Fiction: Sara Keilholtz Poetry: John Hart

Non-fiction category: "Grandmother's Apron" by S. Aurin Haber In this non-fiction essay, Haber (CCC) captures a lost past in her grandmother's kitchen, where memory is not an idea but a sensation: "A pot of syrup added sticky sugar to the steam that settled on the skin of her face and bare arms giving a hint of sweetness to the salty sweat she licked off her upper lip." Harber flirts with the sentimental, but grounds her essay in beautifully textured detail. --Perrin Kerns Literary Analysis: "Foreshadowing the Truth" by Allison Smith Allison Smith (CCC) provides a close and careful reading of the character of the grandmother in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find. Smith notes that the "matter of trust flows gently through the story" but that the reader is left to question "who can and can not be trusted." Smith succeeds in providing evidence of the building unease in the story and in arguing persuasively for O'Connor's ability to craft the foreshadowing of the story's dark ending. --Meg Roland Fiction: "This Little Piggy" by Sara Keilholtz Writer Susan Neville says that the best fiction begins when our illusions end. Ms. Keilholtz's (PCC) story speaks to that belief. The engrossing action forces the point of view character, Caroline to confront the fact that her relationship with Robert has lost its 'footing.' Even though they live together, they are totally missing each other. There are many things to love about Ms. Kielholtz's story: the economy of details; the fresh, unique language ("She stepped into the tub, the hot water painting her skin pink."); the complexity of Caroline's character (e.g., I love how even though Caroline is pissed off at Robert for being so distant, she exacerbates the situation by keeping her anger to herself); the story's surprising (yet inevitable) ending, more specifically, Caroline's boldness, anger, and sadness --- all revealed in one final sweeping act, Snap! Bravo. --Jay Ponteri Poetry: "Chasin' the Trane" by John Hart John Hart (CCC) riffs his way with artistry through the 30-some lines of this free verse ode to saxophonist John Coltrane. The poem's brassy title, a byword for jazzophiles, segues into a syncopation of colors and neologisms, such as om- green notes, traneosphere and soulbelt. The textures and tonality convey homage to a prophetic voice in American culture. Hart opens the poem with an invocation, then sustains its fluid, unpunctuated modulation of syllables, while propelling its dissonance of apocalyptic references towards a harmony-seeking finale:    amecca   amends   amen. -- Joan Maiers