Patricia Spears Jones, poet, and BEI Senior Fellow is featured in a Huffington Post Article. Jones gives her acceptance speech in Patterson, NJ, focused on her rise from one of the Patterson Poetry Awards finalists in 2016, to the 2017 Jackson Poetry Prize recipient. The Jackson Poetry Prize, a $50,000 award honors “an American poet of exceptional talent who deserves wider recognition.” The award is given out by Poets and Writers Magazine, the largest not-for-profit serving creative writers, “nominees are identified by a group of poets selected by Poets & Writers who remain anonymous; final selection is made by a panel of esteemed poets.” Jones was chosen in part because of her thoughtful, and compelling style, which uplifts and enriches the American consciousness.

“Winning made me realize how glad I am that I have been persistent,” Patricia told me later. “It means that my work is being read. It means that my work is respected. It means that I do not have to take jobs I don’t want to in 2018. It means my life’s work is now part of literary history. It gives me momentum to continue and explore other ways to communicate, to educate, and even dream.”