Sarah Mook Poetry Contest

Sarah Mook Poetry Contest Results, 2017

Dear Participants, 

Thank you for entering the Sarah Mook Poetry Contest. It is my great pleasure to read all of your poems before passing the finalists along to judge Marie Kane. We had entries from all across the U.S. and also several foreign countries. The winning poems came from seven different states! We are fortunate to have Marie Kane as our final judge. She gives careful attention to each finalist poem before choosing the top three. Congratulations to all the poets! Congratulations also to the teachers, parents, and mentors who encourage all of the young poets. Here are the winning poems and poets.

K-2 First: "The Autumn Field" by Ada Oberle, Sarasota, FL 

Judge's Comments

K-2 Second: "Dinner Winner" by Griffin Lewis, New York, NY

Judge's Comments

K-2 Third: "Wrigley" by Davin Cumston, Sarasota, FL

Judge's Comments

3-5 First: "Autumn in the Orchard" by Noah Goldstein, Brooklyn, NY

Judge's Comments

 3-5 Second: "The Beach" by Elsa Carter, Lahaska, PA

Judge's Comments

3-5 Third: "Coming Home to Digby" by Owen Hill, Woolwich, ME

Judge's Comments

6-8 First: "Queendom" by Anna Kelly, Edgecomb, ME

Judge's Comments

6-8 Second: "Ode to Beatrix Potter" P1 P2 by Katie Sanborn, Edgecomb, ME 

Judge's Comments

6-8 Third: "Fall: End or New Beginning?" by Emerson Harris, Southport, ME

Judge's Comments

9-12 First: "The Janitor at the Liberty Science Center" by Erika Kluge, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ

Judge's Comments

9-12 Second: "Job" P1 P2 P3 by Leah Kindler, Oak Park, IL

Judge's Comments

9-12 Third: "Streaks" by Cindy Song, Rockville, MD 

Judge's Comments

Thank you for your donations! A contribution of $517 was made in Sarah’s name to Save the Children, an important organization that provides much-needed services to struggling children throughout the world. 

Thank you for helping to honor Sarah and her gift of poetry. Have a safe and happy summer!

Sincerely,

David Mook and Family

davidmook@aol.com


2017 GENERAL COMMENTS SARAH MOOK

For ten years I’ve been the final judge of the Sarah Mook Poetry contest begun by David Mook to honor his daughter, Sarah, a young poet who passed away suddenly in 1995 when in third grade. My first year of judging was 2008. When I reread the poems from that year, I find they are as gifted as the wining poems are this year. The liveliness and originality of language, the variety of topics, the specific diction, expressive metaphor, deft use of the poetic form, and maturity of tone appear in both sets of poems from my first year to this one. I receive ten poems from each grouping to select the top three poets. This year’s winners hail from all parts of the country and explore a great variety of topics. Again, even though choosing the top three winners is challenging, I enjoy selecting the winners and commenting on their poems. The talented winners of 2017 differ in style, voice, poetic devices used, and topics; yet all of them craft poetry of depth. This poetry is exciting in that it involves far-ranging topics that the poets make universal.  These poems “find the words for thought” as Robert Frost said poetry should, or as Rita Dove believes, the poems “make us stop for a moment – and listen.”  Thank you, gifted writers, for making us do just that—stop and listen.