2009 POET OF THE YEAR
JERRI HARDESTY
BRIARFIELD, ALABAMA
Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of the nonprofit New Dawn Unlimited, Inc. (dedicated to poetry publishing, production, performance, promotion, preservation, and education), Jerri and her husband Kirk live in the woods of Alabama with too many animals and a print shop. They also organize Alabama poetry events as well as sponsor and participate in poetry slams at the local, regional, national, and international level.
Jerri received her Masters from Montevallo with a thesis of original poetry. She has appeared in 150 publications and has accepted numerous speaking engagements, lectures, workshops, performances, and scores of awards and honors for both written and spoken word/performance poetry at every level, the most recent being the 2009 Women of the World Head to Head Haiku Champion and, in 2008, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's "Respect the Mic" Champion.
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