In 2021, Howard County Poetry and Literature Society launched the Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Prize in honor of its founding member, Ellen Conroy Kennedy. Now in its forth year, contest judges evaluated many submissions for mechanics and technique, clarity, style/music for our contemporary age, imagery/sensory power, and emotional resonance. Congratulations to honorable mention winner, Kari Martindale, and the poem “The Beaches of Normandie”. Read on to learn a little about the this poet and to hear the poem recited.

How did the poem come about? What sparked or inspired it?

The inspiration for “The Beaches of Normandie” is two-fold. The obvious inspiration is the subject of the poem, Angelo, my grandfather who served in Normandy on D-Day. But what sparked the poem was a post by the literary journal Collateral, which I’ve followed on Instagram since they published a poem of mine. 

When they posted a screenshot of spam that they’d received from someone wanting to collaborate on a bikini ad, I commented joking that now I was going to write a poem in a bikini. Their reply, as a journal that publishes work “concerned with the impact of violent conflict and military service beyond the combat zone,” was, “impact of violent conflict = beach vibes? 🤔” and it clicked: that’s Normandie—a place of horror for my grandfather, but beauty for me during my travels. 

My own experience of being in a war zone further informs the poem. 

What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I can’t pinpoint an early experience, but I can tell you the most meaningful. 

I wrote a poem, “The List”, about my experiences as an interpreter in Iraq. It was unintentionally, subconsciously infused with a feminine perspective that came naturally to me as a woman. When I perform it, women often come up to me to thank me. Most recently, a woman who was clearly affected by my reading told me, “You said things up there that I’ve never said aloud to anyone.”  

Harnessing my experiences into words is helping other women to heal. That’s the power of language. 

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

I would never appropriate a spirit animal because I’m not Native American. However, if I were likening an animal to myself, it might be a goose. They’re loud and they stand their ground, and a lot of people don’t like them for those reasons.  I’m here, and I’m honking. 

Tell us about a writer or a book that you return to over and over for inspiration.

I often return to Dr. Martin Luther King’s writings that are critical of the white moderate, as motivation to do better, be better. 

What are you working on next and where can we find you?

I’m starting to submit two poetry collections: Demolishing Whiteness and When Life Was Someone Else’s: poems from a woman who’s been to war.  The second features “The Beaches of Normandie“. 

I’m finishing up a collection of haiku for all fifty states, which I’ve visited, and I’m turning my poem “Suburban Lies” into a hybrid chapbook/nonfiction.  

You can find me on Instagram @karilogue or online at kariannmartindale.com. 

Kari Martindale is a poet, spoken word artist, and teaching artist who has read at Arts guilds across Maryland and performed at the White House.  She has been published in a number of literary journals and anthologies, has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, and received honorable mention in the 2024 annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.  Kari sits on the Board of Maryland Writers’ Association and the management team of EC Poetry & Prose. She has visited all 50 States and over 40 countries, is multi-lingual, and holds an M.A. in Linguistics from George Mason University.