Members

The Powow River Poets began in Newburyport in the early 90’s as company of  like-minded poets bought together by founder Rhina Espaillat, meeting at each other’s homes to exchange poems and critiques and provide mutual support. The group derives its name from a local tributary of the Merrimack River. 

Powow River Poets members have won five of the annual Richard Wilbur competitions for book length poetry manuscripts, the New Criterion, Robert Penn Warren and Robert Frost Book Awards twice each, and the T.S. Eliot Award.  Notably, eight of the fifteen annual international Nemerov sonnet award competitions, which attract thousands of entrants each year, have been won by a Powow poet, including Powow members Robert Crawford in 2006, A.M. Juster in 2007, and Stephen Scaer in 2008.  

Members are also regular winners in the annual New England Poetry Club competitions.  Most recently, Len Krisak won the NEPC 2009 Der-Hovanessian Translation Award, and Richard Wollman the 2009 Firman Houghton Award for lyric poetry. 

Members have published numerous poetry books and chapbooks.  A number of the Powow poets are also translators; including translations from Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Swedish, as well as from English into Spanish.  Poems and articles by members appear regularly in a wide range of literary journals, e-zines and anthologies.

Contact us for more information on the Powow River Poets.