UA Press Poet Wins Prestigious Prize

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Poetry Center at Passiac County Community College in Paterson, N.J., announced that the 2007 Paterson Poetry Prize was awarded to Christopher Bursk for his collection The First Inhabitants of Arcadia. The University of Arkansas Press published the book in 2006. The collection was also the winner of the Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award in 2006.

In this collection, Bursk delves into the mysteries inherent in the alphabet, which he describes as “the first inhabitants of Arcadia, / now homesick, curious exiles from Eden.” Here are “reading lessons,” the author’s exploration of the curses and blessings of the word. Here are poems about a boy’s first investigations into the nature of language as he studies the backs of baseball cards, and a young man’s infatuation with the “F-word.” The titles sing their lettered songs: “An ode to j,” “M-m-m Good!” and “O in Trouble.” And over the whole book broods the great lexicographer, Samuel Johnson.

Bursk is professor of English at Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania and the author of a number of other collections. He won the 2004 Donald Hall Prize in Poetry for his book, The Improbable Swervings of Atoms. He has been recognized for his work with prisoners, the homeless, food banks and women’s shelters.

In 2006 another UA Press poetry collection, Gary Fincke’s Standing Around the Heart, was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize. The prize is $1,000 and is given annually by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College. Bursk will attend the awards ceremony at the college in February, 2008, where he will give a reading and receive his prize.