The deadline for The Crashaw Prize has been and gone. Now comes the agonising wait to find out who the winners are. To entertain you and give you some insight into what it feels like to be involved, we asked last years winners to talk with each other about the experience.
Today Abi Curtis and Jamey Dunham take a few moments to reflect on the prize.
Abi: Where were you when you found out you’d won the prize and what was the first thing you did?
Jamey: I was checking my work email which I hadn’t been on in a few days because we were off for winter break. Chris had emailed that account. I was in complete shock. I remember hugging my wife and kids and then I had to go teach a rock climbing class that night at the gym. I was in a daze. I was really lucky I didn’t drop anyone.
Could you describe the moment when you first found out you won the Crashaw Prize?
Abi: It was via e-mail and I was on my own in the flat. I always expect such e-mails to say, ‘we are sorry but…’ or something like that, and it took my eyes a while to adjust.
What do you think of The Bible of Lost Pets cover design? It’s pretty kooky, but in a good way. Was this your idea, or did you leave it to the creatives at Salt?
Jamey: That was all Salt and in particular Chris. I like it myself though I’ve heard the dog on the cover described as everything from a meerkat to a hairy T-Rex. Funny thing is we got our first dog a few weeks before and it looks just like the dog on the book. She’s an Australian Shepherd-Poodle mix with a docked tail. Seriously, just like the cover. It’s scary.
Could you talk about where the title Unexpected Weather comes from?
Abi: Titles are soooo difficult. I wanted to take a phrase from the collection, and toyed with a few. When I thought of this title it seemed to make sense – there are a lot of references to weather in the book and it’s important to many of the poems.
What are the best 3 things that have happened as a result of winning the competition?
Jamey: Well first, I’ve met some great people I might not have met otherwise. I guess I also have a sense of closure with the poems in the book that frees me up to start my next manuscript with a blank slate. Ultimately, the best thing about winning the competition and seeing the book in print was dedicating it to my wife and kids. That was special for me.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of winning the Crashaw Prize?
Abi: Meeting and working with new people; from the team at Salt, to the other winners and the lovely people that come to readings. Also, having that concrete and rather beautiful object in your hands has a great psychological effect – I felt as though I was free to go onto the next thing, and free to promote the poems I already had.
What are the worst 3 things?
Jamey: One thing is the sense that I am letting Chris and Jen at Salt down if I don’t sell a lot of the books. Another thing is the inevitable resentment I have felt from writers who didn’t win and haven’t had a book come out yet. I get that, I do and I can’t say I blame them. Lastly, for some strange reason it seems some people want to know me all of the sudden. That’s a joke. I’m nobody, some thirty-something Dad and husband who teaches at a community college in Ohio. Seriously, I didn’t go to Iowa, I don’t live in New York and I am about as “connected” to the hipsters of the poetry world as Paris Hilton is to the Vatican.
Had you previously submitted the manuscript elsewhere before Salt? Did the win ultimately validate you?
Abi: I had sent samples out before, but never a whole manuscript. I either got ignored completely, or just polite ‘no’s. I had also had a little uncertain interest, but nothing concrete until this. I’d planned to send to Salt as a first choice for a while, and then a friend told me about the competition, which motivated me and gave me a proper deadline. The win was a surprise and I had been going through a phase of wondering if anyone would want to read my book, so it did help my confidence.
What are the most surprising 3 things?
Jamey: I was shocked at how fast things happened. It took years and years to write that book and only a couple of months to have it come out. I was also shocked at how well I was treated by the people at Salt and the lengths they went to for promotion. Lastly, I never thought I’d have my picture taken professionally.
It was hilarious for me to “pose” for a picture and then to see it blown up huge on the Salt website. I still laugh when I see it, a nervous, slightly embarrassed laugh.
What advice would you give to writers considering submitting to the Crashaw or any other book contests?
Abi: Don’t rush it. Feel as though the manuscript is finished and the best that it can be for you.
So Jamey, what are you going to do next?
Jamey: I’m writing prose poems and I’ve slowed down. I still consider myself a student of the form and I want to back away from the urgency to publish and spend more time writing the best poems I can. I recently did an interview with the poet Peter Johnson in preparation for his upcoming Selected Works. He really made me realize the importance of not worrying about the publications and the awards but instead spending that time and energy writing good poems.
Jamey Dunham’s The Bible of Lost Pets and Abi Curtis’ 
Unexpected Weather are both available now from our online store with 20% off.
Check out the blog tomorrow for Tom Chivers and Jared Stanley’s views on being a Salt poet.
