Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Awards

The Thirty-Second Annual Evanston Public Library
Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Awards

2010 Judge: Bobbi Katz

Bobbi Katz is a poet, writer, and activist, and her poetry is widely anthologized. Her collection of poems about American
history, We the People, was named an ALA Booklist Top Ten Poetry Pick. Katz fell in love with the sound of words as a young child growing up in New York’s Hudson Valley. Jazz fueled her appetite for rhythm and the musical quality of language. In addition to her writing career, Katz has pursued many paths including social worker, fashion and book editor, and radio talk show host of Art in Action. An accomplished poet, Katz has conducted many poetry workshops for children, teachers, and librarians. Her most recent work is The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme. www.bobbikatz.com

The Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Awards is a competition open to all adult and high school age Chicago area poets. There is also an elementary and middle school category open to Evanston elementary and middle school students. The awards are funded by an endowment to the library in memory of Jo-Anne Hirshfield, who found pleasure and delight in poetry.

The Thirty-second Annual Evanston Public Library Jo-Anne Hirshfield Memorial Poetry Awards was held in the Evanston Public Library Community Meeting Room on Sunday, April 25, 2010. The ceremony featured the winning poems and a poetry reading by this year's competition judge, Bobbi Katz.