Elyse Fenton, a poet who is temporarily living in West Philadelphia, won the prestigous Dylan Thomas Prize earlier this week for Clamor, a collection of poems about her experience as the wife of a soldier serving in Iraq.
“The full spectacle of this is just starting to dawn on me,” she told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Peter Florence, the chair of the judges for the prize, called Fenton’s work an “astonishing, fully accomplished book of huge ambition and spectacular delivery.”
Fenton was presented the award during a ceremony Wednesday at the University of Swansea, located in the Welsh city where Thomas was born. The prize includes a 30,000 pound ($48,000) cash prize. Fenton’s work was the first time the 3-year-old prize has been awarded to a book of poems. Authors under the age of 30 who have published a work in English are eligible for the award.
The Inquirer reported that Fenton is staying in her brother’s West Philly row home while her husband, who served in Iraq in 2005, serves a legal clerkship in Trenton.
A sampling of stuff happening around the area today/tonight. See happenings for information on other events.
• Eateleh: A Life in Klezmer • 7:30 p.m. • Calvary Center for Community and Culture • 801 S. 48th St. (at Baltimore Avenue) • Tickets: $10-$30 A production of the Philadelphia Folklore Project and Crossroads Music, this event includes a documentary about klezmer music and a performance by Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Lankin Watts (mother and daughter) who are part of a family of klezmer musicians. The documentary tells the story of their family and the legacy of klezmer, a musical style rooted in Ukrainian and Romanian traditions.
Organizers strongly recommend buying tickets in advance. They are available online and at the door until they sell out.
The West Catholic football team upended Northern Lehigh 55-14 on Friday in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals in Allentown. The Burrs advance to the state AA semifinals, which are scheduled for December 10-11. West Catholic advanced to the state finals in 2008 only to lose a heartbreaking, double-overtime game to Wilmington Area 35-34. The Burrs made a playoff run last year before falling to Lancaster Catholic 23-21 in the semifinals.
The Burrs will take on either Trinity or Lewisburg in the semis.
Does anyone have any photos or videos from Friday night’s game? Please pass them along to editor [at] westphillylocal.com and we will post them.
Every year since 2003 the folks at Neighborhood Bike Parts put out a call to local artists to come and scrounge around in their used parts bins. Tonight we get a chance to see (and buy) what they’ve created from all those chain rings, cranksets and pedals. The annual Bike Part Art Show runs 7-10 p.m. tonight at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave).
Proceeds from the silent auction and raffle that will run during the show benefit the Neighborhood Bike Works’ free after-school programs and summer camp scholarships. The show will also include beer and snacks. A $5 donation at the door would be greatly appreciated.
This gal was found this morning in Clark Park by a USP student. She has a collar and a choke chain, but no tags and no chip. Any info contact Melissa at mjankoviak [at] mail.usp.edu.
Philadelphia Police arrested five men yesterday who were allegedly running a “black money” scam on Philadelphia businesses, including one in Overbrook whose owner alerted the cops. Police report that one of the men arrested, 27-year-old Patrick Sanyeah, lived on the 4600 block of Chester Avenue. All five men are Liberian nationals.
Basically the scam involves a fairly elaborate demonstration of “washing” U.S. bills from West Africa that have been blackened to get through U.S. Customs. The men tell businesses owners that they need a small investment from them to help in the washing operation and that they would get a portion of the money when it was complete. Sometimes called the “wash, wash,” the scam began appearing int he United States in 2000. It often starts with a random e-mail.
The Channel 6 video below explains yesterday’s arrest…
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