Winners of annual poetry contest announced

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Greenwich Education Group (GEG) and Arch Street Teen Center held their 2nd Annual Poetry Contest. The contest sought out budding high school poets in grades nine through twelve, and while most submissions were received from the Fairfield, Westchester and Putnam areas, poems came from as far as Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Illinois.

The poems were read and judged by an esteemed panel made up of Greenwich High School English teacher Melissa Macchio, King Low Heywood English department chair Carolyn Patten and Greenwich Education Group English tutor James Novoa. Each work was judged for its originality, creativity and level of artistic quality.

“We were so pleased to see the wide variety of topics and poetic styles in the submissions,” explained Kate Guthrie, director of GEG’s Academic Services. “The quality and sophistication of the poems was simply stunning, which made the selection process a daunting one. What better way to celebrate Poetry Month than to experience the incredible talents of these students.”

First prize was awarded to Ainsley Buck, a freshman at Greenwich Academy, for her poem titled Broken Glass. Judge Carolyn Patten called the winning entry “quite sophisticated, specifically her use of enjambment [which] eagerly pulls the reader through the poem, moving from short stanza to short stanza. Buck’s use of figurative language, specifically the tactile imagery, invites the reader into the poem and allows one to feel the sand.”

Second place went to King Low Heywood senior Grace Linnan for Elephant in the Room, and Greenwich Academy sophomore Katherine Du came in third for her poem Cardboard Memory. Sydney Heath and Claudia Kania were recognized as honorable mentions for their submissions Eve and Heed Polaris, respectively.

There will be a poetry reading at the Greenwich Grind Coffee Shop in the fall, where each of the writers will read their award winning poems aloud. The winning entries can also be found posted on the Greenwich Education Group website, Greenwichedgroup.com.

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