Michael Hettich, winner of Swan Scythe Press Contest

Congratulations FLAC Member Michael Hettich:

2011 SWAN SCYTHE PRESS CHAPBOOK CONTEST WINNER

SACRAMENTO, CA, JULY 10, 2011 –- Swan Scythe Press, one of the U.S.’s most respected poetry publishers, today announced the winner of the 2011 Swan Scythe Press Poetry Chapbook Contest. The winning manuscript is The Measured Breathing by Michael Hettich of Miami Shores, Florida.

Mr. Hettich’s manuscript will be published by Swan Scythe Press in Fall 2011, and he will receive a $200 award for his work. According to Swan Scythe Press’s editor, James DenBoer, his choice of the contest winner was based on “Michael Hettich’s distinct voice; his work stood out immediately from the large number of competent and interesting poets who entered our contest. I was particularly impressed by his ability to write a book of lyric poems without using the word “I” and by his startling images of transformation and transcendence.”

Michael Hettich's poetry has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Cake, Hamilton Stone Review, International Literary Quarterly, Poetry East, and many other literary journals. His most recently-published book of poems is Like Happiness, from Anhinga Press; a new book, The Animals Beyond Us, is forth-coming from New Rivers Press. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he now teaches at Miami Dade College.

Swan Scythe Press was founded in 2000 by poet Sandra McPherson, and is now edited by James DenBoer, also a poet. The Measured Breathing was chosen as the contest winner from among 165 entries, from 34 U.S. states and 4 foreign countries. Mr. DenBoer made the final selection of the winner, with the help of a small group of outside readers. Mr Hettich’s book will be the 32nd book of poetry published by Swan Scythe Press. Its authors have won many awards and prizes, and have distinguished themselves as artists and educators throughout the U.S. and abroad.

For more information on Swan Scythe Press itself, please see the Press’s website at http://www.swanscythe.com, email the editor directly at jimzbookz@yahoo.com, or write to the press at 515 P Street, #804, Sacramento CA 95814.