CutBank is thrilled to announce the winners of our 2020 Chapbook Contest! Congratulations to Ashwini Bhasi, Natalie Tombasco, and Geula Geurts, whose books will be published by CutBank in 2021.
WINNER
Musth by Ashwini Bhasi
About the Author:
Ashwini Bhasi is a bioinformatician from Kerala, India, interested in exploring the somatics of shame, trauma and chronic pain through poetry and visual art. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in RHINO, Indianapolis Review, Room Magazine, Rogue Agent, Intima, The Feminist Wire and elsewhere. She received the 2018 William J. Shaw Memorial Poetry Prize from Dunes Review and was a finalist for the 2018 Rita Dove Poetry Award.
What Our Judges Say:
“A stunning, cohesive collection. One of the best poetry collections I've read for this journal so far!”
“Starkly yet vividly conceived. All the grotesqueness (sewer sludge, rats in mouths, etc) is met with a real capacity for language and metaphor. The control over language, diction and sometimes experimental form provides a confident and clear entry point into the difficulty of some of the subject matter.”
“Incredible. Beautiful linguistic movement. The content is vital... This brevity is truly powerful.”
Runners-Up
Collective Inventions by Natalie Tombasco
About the Author:
Natalie Louise Tombasco is pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at Florida State University and serves as the Assistant Interviews Editor of the Southeast Review. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Butler University and grew up in Staten Island, NY. Her poems have appeared in The Minnesota Review, Antioch Review, Southwest Review, Sonora Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Meridian, Salt Hill, Third Coast, The Rumpus, The Boiler, among others. She was a runner-up in The 2019 Pinch Literary Awards in Poetry.
What Our Judges Say:
“These poems unfurl with equal parts ire and love.”
“Visual, rhythmic, frank and honest.“
“Somewhat graphic, corporeal, luscious, these poems dwell on the trails of becoming. They pit comfort against anguish in a relatable, utterly modern voice.”
The Beginnings of Fire by Geula Geurts
About the Author:
Geula Geurts is a Dutch born poet and essayist living in Jerusalem. Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Pleiades, The Penn Review, Juked, Raleigh Review, Bird Quarterly, Blood Orange Review, New South and SWIMM, among others. Her mini chapbook 'Like Any Good Daughter' was published by Platypus Press. She was named a finalist in the 2018 Autumn House Chapbook Contest, and a semifinalist in the 2020 Crab Creek Review Poetry Prize. She is a graduate of the Shaindy Rudolph Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University, and works as a literary agent at the Deborah Harris Agency.
What Our Judges Say:
“Intriguing story that starts off wrestling, and ends wrestling, still.”
“Very organic. It proceeds smoothly from and remains mirrored with the original action of remembering”
“Deeply moving personal anecdotes on a biblical scale.”
The CutBank Chapbook Contest honors three works of startling, evocative, and beautiful new writing in prose and poetry each year. To purchase previous chapbook winners, please visit our online store.