THE JEAN FELDMAN POETRY PRIZE

Please note: our annual Jean Feldman Poetry Prize will be on hiatus until submissions open in September of 2025 for publication in 2026. With the generous support of Dr. Jean Feldman, we will be publishing our 50th-anniversary anthology, AMERICA’S FUTURE, in late 2025.

Every year, Dr. Jean Feldman supports the publication of our poetry manuscript, and in 2022 made a special her donation in memory of Dotti Warren, her life-long, best friend from Briarcliff High School in Atlanta. We are grateful to the generosity and spirit of Dr. Jean Feldman and may this year’s donation be a beautiful memory to a beautiful friendship.

Dr. Jean Feldman’s noteworthy educational career has spanned more than 40 years. She has served as a classroom teacher, instructor of adults, author, and consultant. She is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the National Kindergarten Alliance, and the International Reading Association. Dr. Feldman’s list of degrees include a B.A. from the University of Georgia, a D.A.S.T. from Emory University, and both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Georgia State University. Dr. Feldman inspires teachers across the country with her engaging songs and creative activities that help make teaching and learning FUN! More about her books and work here.

Thank you, Dr. Jean Feldman, for your support!

Critics Say

"Among the 111 pieces featured are a remarkable number of standouts — far too many to highlight here. But I was especially moved by the breadth of humanity on display in all its sadness, joy, rage, despair, and humor..."

—Washington Independent Review of Books on This Is What America Looks Like: Poetry & Fiction from DC, Maryland, Virginia

"This Is What America Looks Like is wildly diverse with short stories...and poetry speaking to relationships and experiences that redefine what identity means."

—Washington City Paper on This Is What America Looks Like: Poetry & Fiction from DC, Maryland, Virginia

"Refreshingly fearless and, like a subway's third rail, hums with electricity."

—Adam Ross, editor of the Sewanee Review on Adam Schwartz's The Rest of The World

"These brilliant poems stun the page..."

—Zakia Henderson-Brown on Steven Leyva's The Understudy's Handbook

"When I read the first poem in Words We Might One Day Say, I thought Holly Karapetkova was related to Gabriel Marquez. A surprise seems to appear in many of her poems. Some come close to being magical. I like how this woman writes about childhood. I want to grow old with this book."

——E. Ethelbert Miller on Holly Karapetkova's Words We Might One Day Say