From Notes to a Winning Poem, Professor Dave Newman Wins Poetry Award

Rattle Magazine, an international literary magazine that promotes the practice of poetry, provides writers the chance to make submissions and win awards. One in particular, the Readers’ Choice Award, provides Rattle subscribers the opportunity to vote for their favorite submission. 

The Rattle Magazine 2024 Reader’s Choice Award winner is none other than Pitt-Greensburg’s Assistant Professor of Creative and Professional Writing, Dave Newman. 

Newman’s poem, “I’M TRYING TO LEAD THIS OLD-TIMEY VETERAN,” was one of over 5,000 submissions. Out of these, 10 finalist poems were voted on by readers, with his poem coming out on top. 

“It was cool to win a prize, especially one chosen by the readers of Rattle, a journal I really admire,” Newman says. 

Newman’s poem was inspired by events that took place when Newman worked at the Veterans Hospital in Pittsburgh.

“I used to work in the VA, so I got to write about some of the happenings in the hospital and how people interact with each other and the frustrations, but also the kindness that happens in those places, which is really important,” Newman says. 

The writing method for this poem wasn’t an easy one. Newman explains that he had to avoid writing exactly what happened to abide by privacy laws and regulations. 

“I’d take some notes, forget about the notes, find the notes, then try to change the notes into something that looks like it happened but didn’t. It was really a process,” he says. 

Rattle subscribers enjoyed Newman’s poem, and some shared their opinions on why they voted for it. 

“Real life in honest words. An important reminder of the importance of shared humanity and kindness,” Linea Jantz writes.  

Betsy Mars agrees. 

“It was a difficult choice, but the voice and the observant way in which this poem captures this particular experience won me over.” 

The Rattle Readers’ Choice award comes with a $5,000 prize. The winner is selected from the 10 finalists for the annual Rattle Poetry Prize, one of the biggest poetry competitions in the world. All finalists receive $500, with the Rattle Poetry Prize top winner receiving $15,000. This year’s winner was Arthur Russell for his poem “Among Other Things.” 

The Insider would like to congratulate Professor Newman for this achievement. 

Here is the poem: 

I’M TRYING TO LEAD THIS OLD-TIMEY VETERAN

to the small room where I can interview him

for a research study on back pain

but his legs don’t work well

which is not an uncommon problem

for guys who served in the Army

when they were teenagers

or in their early 20s

guys whose only options

were factory or minimum wage

or living with their parents forever

and this woman

who was in the Airforce

who has never been

in a research study

but who I see

around the hospital

who I notice

because she is often loud

this woman who was maybe

in a war I missed

and there are a lot of little wars

you realized you’ve missed

once you start working

with the folks who fought

and she sits in the waiting room

and shouts at random vets

her peers, saying “The cunts

have arrived without notice”

until a security guard

who is probably a vet

walks over and says

“Hey, you can’t shout that”

and she’s says

“I’m sorry, I just get pissed”

and instead of arresting her

or berating her for the insults

he plops down in the chair

next to her in the waiting room

like it’s a recliner

and says “No, I get it”

and they start chatting

just like she hadn’t cunt-bashed

the entire room at a volume

that distorted her face

and I finally get my vet

into the room

to start interviewing him

for the research study

guiding him to a chair

then rolling him to a table

then leaning his cane

nearby so he feels safe

and while I pull out the forms

and a pen and couple pieces

of butterscotch hard candy

I offer to all the research

participants because they’re old

and their throats get dry

he reaches across the table

and touches my hand

and says “She’s had it hard”

like he knows her but he doesn’t

and I almost tear up, seeing how

much he cares for her, this woman

who wanted to belittle the world

and that’s the kind of compassion

I’ve been striving for, working for

and failing at for my whole

fucking life.