Results – Sarah Mook Poetry Contest 2023
Thank you for entering the Sarah Mook Poetry Contest. While we didn’t receive quite as many poems this year (approximately 900), entries came from 29 states and also from South Korea, Nepal, China, and India. Winning poems came from 7 different states and from China! Congratulations to all the poets, and special thanks to the teachers, parents, and mentors who support these young writers. Due to unforeseen circumstances the results are a bit late this year and we thank you for your patience. I want to share a few thoughts from our final judge: “As usual, the poems are good and I have to read them numerous times... I have a list of criteria I use to judge the poetry. NORMAL STUFF. Poetic devices, development of the poem, vocabulary, challenging topic, flow, line breaks, did the poet take chances in the poem? voice, lack of spelling, grammatical errors, title, sharp ending, does the poem exceed or fit the expectation of that grade level, and other items. That helps me be more careful in my selection. It takes time, but I feel better about my choices. Know that I take this job very seriously. Thank you, David, for giving me the chance to renew my faith in academic poetry.”
Thank you, Judge Marie Kane, for these insights into the care you take to choose the winning poems!
The Kindergarten (K-only) Awards are sponsored and judged by Sarah's kindergarten teacher Mrs. Olwen Jarvis. Award letters include her comments on each winning poem, a check to be used for the purchase of books for each of the winning poets’ school libraries, as well as book plates which acknowledges each poet’s achievement. Mrs. Jarvis writes: “It is so difficult to select just three poems. You know I would like to recognize each and every effort.” Please know that every poem by these very young poets is read and appreciated. Thank you, Mrs. Jarvis!
K only 1st Prize “From the Lily Pad” by Evie Abrams, NY
K only 2nd Prize “Leaves of Fall” by Finley Barnes-Vieten, ME
K only 3rd Prize “Then and Now” by Arlo Aeppli, ME
1-2 1st Prize “Just Imagine” by Mirabel Sandler, CA
1-2 2nd Prize “Things Around the House” Iris Burlingame, VT
1-2 3rd Prize “Trees” by Wendy Emerson, MO
3-5 1st Prize “Autumn” by Nova Macknik-Conde, NY
3-5 2nd Prize “The Five Petals of the Flower” by Xinchen (Della) Wang, China 3-5 3rd Prize “Sitting on the Dock” by Estella Wigg, ME
6-8 1st Prize “These Streets” by Sierra Elman, CA
6-8 2nd Prize “An Abecedarian for Dad” by Josephine Shea, ME
6-8 3rd Prize “You and I” by Meghan Arnold, ME
9-12 1st Prize “an hour into the Miss Americana documentary” by Hannah Rouse, VA
9-12 2nd Prize “dad keeps telling me to find joy in the pieces she left behind, but I’d rather ” by Alexandria Rhodes, VA
9-12 3rd Prize “Tapestry of Inheritance" by Allison Xu, MD
Thank you also for your donations! A contribution of $435 was made in Sarah’s name to Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “inspire a love of reading and writing in children.” We are happy to support a mission so complementary to the purpose of Sarah’s poetry writing contest. Award letters will be mailed soon to the winning poets. Winning poems will be published later this summer on the website. You will receive an email when the poems are posted. Thank you for honoring Sarah and her gift of poetry.
Sincerely,
David Mook and Family
