Winners are Announced for

The Eleventh Annual Poetry Contest

 

 

Age 8-12

First Place: Emma Arnold, In The Dark of the Pale Moonlight

Second Place: Margaret Bremner, Unity

Third Place: Hallie Parlin, The Wind

 

Age 13-17

First Place: Jack M. Volterman, Fictional Characters

Second Place: Rita J. Baker,  Abyss

Third Place: Kasy Brault, Family Fun Time

 

Age 18-25

First Place: Mikayla Brown, Once More

Second Place: Elizabeth Beaudette, My Dad

 

Students of Literacy Volunteers

First Place: Anna Crockett, Pinewood Angels

Second Place: Joanna Ladd, Learning in Important to Me

Third Place: Lorrie Chicoine, My Dog Casey Rae

 

26+

First Place: Wendy Morrill, We’re All Millionaires

Second Place: Elizabeth Cooke, Today

Third Place: Sally Speich, The Flow of Life

 

2021 Winning Poems

 

For something special this year, we wrote a list poem, listing the entire collection of this year's poetry contest submission titles. (All titles unedited but one; a name removed. All titles separated by commas or periods.)

 

List Poem of Titles

 

Gratitude for poetry contest sponsorship is expressed to

Western Maine Financial Services and Susan and Fritz Onion. THANK YOU.

 

Prizes: Gift Certificates

First: $20 at Devaney Doak & Garrett  Booksellers

Second: $15 at Twice Sold Tales Bookstore

Third: $10 at Phillips Public Library Store

 

 

2021 Judge's Remarks: Laine Kuehn

The Franklin County community is lucky to have a contest like this, especially now. It is important to have a place to which people can contribute their voices, and while part of the thrill of a contest is to submit knowing that you may not place in it, I feel outrageously fortunate knowing I get to read to every entry.

I believe that poetry is a unifying force (and I believe that everyone can, and should, write poems). These last few months have been incredibly difficult for many, but I believe they also offer moments to slow down, moments of self-discovery, and the time to try to find language to talk about the things that move around inside us and matter to us most. As Mary Oliver wrote in her poem “The Uses of Sorrow,” “Someone I loved once gave me / a box full of darkness. // It took me years to understand / that this, too, was a gift.”

It was especially beautiful to see themes in each category, and among the whole group! It seems like on every level we are all responding deeply to relationships, we are all looking more closely, breathing more deeply, noticing the shifts of light. Through it all, the kids in the first category bring their wisdom and their humor, too. 

 A subset of those voices are represented in these winning poems. They speak for themselves. While we cannot gather in person to hear them together, I hope two things: that we read them aloud to the people in our lives so that they can come alive off the page and in the mouths of people, as some poems are meant to do, and that each of us write a poem in the coming weeks—even if it’s a small one, just for us.

 

 

Poetry Contest Judge, Laine Kuehn Biography:

Laine Kuehn is a poet, woodswalker, and deep listener. Laine graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington in 2014, where they majored in Creative Writing and served as intern at the Beloit Poetry Journal; since then, Laine coordinated programs with the Maine Humanities Council, volunteered for 5 years on the steering committee of the Belfast Poetry Festival, co-edited and produced several issues of a literary magazine, organized formal and informal readings, and remains deeply committed to the work of writing, workshopping, reading, and celebrating poetry in all its forms throughout Maine and beyond. They believe that poetry lives inside and beneath everything and takes many forms, and strives for a world where everyone feels free, curious, and able to find it.