“My Father” by Ollie Schminkey is the winner of the 2024-25 Previously Published Poem Prize, selected by Palette editors. We’re honored to share this intricate poem with you.
This poem was first published in Frontier Poetry .
Ollie Schminkey
Ollie Schminkey (they/them) has spent the past decade coaching, mentoring, teaching classes, and running workshops for poets. Their work has been featured everywhere from Poets.org to Frontier Poetry to Upworthy, and they’ve performed poems in 21 states, with their work garnering over 3 million views on YouTube. They are the author of four chapbooks and two full-length collections: Where I Dry the Flowers (Button Poetry, 2024) and Dead Dad Jokes (Button Poetry, 2021), which was shortlisted for both the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize. They are the founder and director of Midwest Poetry Mash-Up and a recipient of a 2025 Arts Impact for Individuals grant through the Minnesota Regional Arts Council. You can also find them teaching classes through Writers.com , making pottery, dancing in their kitchen, or playing with their cat Pete, who is always trying to eat things he shouldn’t.
