I am honored to share that the editors of Harpur Palate have selected my poem "The Hermitage at Laurel Dell" as the winner of the 2018 Milton Kessler Memorial Prize, which is named after the late poet and professor Milton Kessler. The poem imagines the life of a hermit, Emil Barth, who lived off the grid in a meadow on Mt. Tamalpais in California in the early part of the 20th century. Growing up, I frequently hiked past a place called "Barth's Retreat", the ruins of his dwelling, and was always intrigued by this enigmatic figure. Research revealed few details about his life. You can read the poem by clicking below.
