This week, Christopher Nelson, editor and publisher of Green Linden Press, extended his congratulations to Jordan Stempleman for winning the fifth annual Wishing Jewel Prize. This distinguished honor, named for an essay in Anne Carson’s Plainwater, includes a $1,000 award and the commitment to publish Stempleman’s manuscript, Spilt.

The Wishing Jewel Prize recognizes manuscripts that challenge expectations of what a book of poems can be and demonstrates anew the rich potentials of lyric language. according to the announcement.

As part of the upcoming collection, Stempleman will feature several previously published poems, including The Hourly Floated Up: Death PT II from Windfall Room (Issue 23) for which the author recorded a recitation.

A selection of other poems from the collection includes:

• Biscuit Hill (Issue 6): "An Anniversary"
• TYPO Magazine (Issue 33): "Take on Me"
• Heavy Feathers Review (The Haunted Issue): "Problem Solving," "All Actually," and "Unmoved"
• Bear Review (Issue 7.2): "May I Have Your Attention Please?"

Described by Green Linden Press, Spilt captures the experience of living between the domestic and the absurd, the lyrical and the narrative, oscillating between these states as a reflection of day-to-day existence. The poems explore both pandemic and non-pandemic experiences of separation and quarantine, blending whimsy, deadpan humor, stark realism, and pure fantasy.

Each poem stands isolated as its own distinct world (or word), slightly out of sync with our reality of excess and overwhelming information. The poems in Spilt leak and escape, striving to connect with one another and with us, gathering socially, often stretching lines and language to their limits before pulling them back again.

Jordan Stempleman is the author of nine books of poetry, including Cover Songs (The Blue Turn), Wallop, and No, Not Today (Magic Helicopter Press). In addition to his work as an author, Stempleman is the editor of The Continental Review, Windfall Room, and Sprung Formal.

Since 2011, he has also organized the Common Sense Reading Series in Kansas City, Missouri. Stempleman is an Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts Department and Creative Writing Program at the Kansas City Art Institute.

For more information, visit his website: www.jordanstempleman.com.