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Ruth Harper's Dreaming the Sturgeon Moon won the 2025 South Dakota State Poetry Society's annual chapbook contest. It was judged by Minnesota author and publisher David Pichaske.
Here is what Pichaske said about the book:
“In this well-constructed and well-organized collection of moon dreams, Ruth Harper explores herself and her Great Plains world of crickets and meadowlarks . . . and, by extension, our own selves and our Great Plains worlds. She celebrates the post-winter, post-Vietnam, post-pandemic rebirth we may all experience in God and Nature, in children and friends, in the past and the present. We too can plant tulips, listen to the crickets, stare in awe at moon and stars in the high heavens. And remember. . . . Always remember. Enjoy as well the poems’ forms, and Harper’s voice, full of alliterations and rhymes. And her subtle allusions to poets and artists like Van Gogh, Nora Ephron, and Bill Holm. Take her advice, folks, and seize the day. Play the piano or a guitar. Resurrect the past. Reclaim the body. Take a walk across the prairie. Write a sonnet. Stay sane in these crazy times.”
—David Pichaske