Davidson writer wins Rose Post award

Anthony Abbott, a novelist, poet and retired Davidson College English professor, is this year's winner of the the Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Competition.

Sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network, the Rose Post competition encourages nonfiction outside the realm of traditional journalism.

Abbott won for his essay "The White Dress," about a visit to Emily Dickinson's house.

"The writer's passion for this event was palpable," wrote author Anne Clinard Barnhill, who judged the contest. She praised the work for "the carefulness of the language used in this piece, the reverence for the subject -- a visit to Emily Dickinson's house -- and the poetic descriptions."

Second place winner in this year's contest was Terri Sherrill of Hillsborough for her essay "For the Love of Loggerheads."

Jeanette Cabanis-Brewin of Cullowhee won third place for "White Lobelia: An Open Letter to My Neighbor."

First-, second- and third-place entries receive $300, $200 and $100, respectively. Abbott's essay will be considered for publication in the magazine "Southern Cultures."

Abbott's latest book is the 2011 poetry collection "If Words Could Save Us."