[caption id="attachment_76" align="alignright" width="200" caption="The Boatloads by Dan Albergotti."][/caption] This is the last month to submit a manuscript to BOA's 9th annual first-book contest, the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. So it's a perfect time to celebrate the success of a previous Poulin Prize winner: Dan Albergotti. Dan's first poetry collection, The Boatloads, was chosen by final judge Edward Hirsch as winner of the 6th annual contest. Dan's manuscript rose to the top of 888 submissions that year, because, as Hirsch wrote, “Dan Albergotti’s first book, The Boatloads, is filled with the spirit of mystery. It is a startling achievement that begins in wonder and ends in awe. Albergotti is a poet of deep conviction, a rare quality in our cynical times. He is a genuine seeker, a man on a spiritual quest, a stubborn questioner, and his poems are infused with the sense that the earth itself is sacred.” Since it's publication in 2007, The Boatloads has gone into a second printing and was named a "Best Book for Summer Reading, 2008" by The Montserrat Review. Dan was also profiled in Poets & Writers Magazine for their 4th annual Poetry Debuts feature. The Boatloads has received reviews in Mid-American Review, The Hudson Review, and, Rattle, among other places, and was featured on Verse Daily. Dan has also given numerous readings from The Boatloads, including appearing as a featured poet at the Southern Festival of Books and at BOA's annual Dine & Rhyme fundraising celebration. We are proud of all of our authors, and we take particular pride when we are able to publish a first book that launches a new voice into the world of poetry. Dan is one of those voices and we celebrate his ongoing success and acclaim. Most recently, Dan has five video poems featured at Southern Spaces. Southern Spaces is "an interdisciplinary journal about the regions, places, and cultures of the American South." The poems feature a blend of Dan reading his work with visual montages that reflect the atmosphere (literal and implied) of his poetry. This is a stellar example of bringing poetry into the digitial age and we applaud the innovation of Southern Spaces... as well as their great taste in poetry! Watch Dan's digital poems here: [Dan Albergotti at Southern Spaces] You can also find more of Dan's poetry online by visiting: [Dan Albergotti online poetry] Finally, you can purchase The Boatloads here: [Buy The Boatloads] [caption id="attachment_75" align="alignleft" width="101" caption="Dan Albergotti. BOA poet."][/caption]