In an age of email and texting, poetry might have declined as a means of expression. That point is not lost on Tom Erdmann Jr., a poet since fifth grade who belongs to the Professional Writers of Prescott. “Poetry will never die, but it is always going to be a thing that is appreciated by a limited number of people,” Erdmann said.
[caption id="attachment_118" align="alignleft" width="182" caption="Amadee Ricketts, librarian in charge"]
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Erdmann tried to encourage the appreciation while judging the 2011 Youth Poetry Contest. The writers group and the Prescott Public Library sponsored the contest, and presented awards during a ceremony April 2 at the library. The contest drew 97 entries from elementary schools (grades third to fifth), 64 from middle schools (sixth to eighth) and 32 from high schools (ninth through 12th) in the tri-city area. The only limitation the poets faced was fitting their poems on a sheet of paper, said Amadee Ricketts, lead librarian for youth services.
[caption id="attachment_117" align="alignright" width="166" caption="Elementary School Honorable Mention poet Caden Stoll with his teacher Danette Derickson"]
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The contest sponsors presented prizes for the top three poets in each school category, as well as honorable mentions to 17 other poets. “I looked for consistency, and all three poems displayed a consistent address,” Erdmann said. “The students were able to state an idea, develop it and complete it. … I look for good, strong verbs, and not overuse of adjectives.”
The winners in the elementary category are: first place, Shanti Ryan, for “Forest Sunshine”; second place, Abbie Golden, “My Horse’s Brown Eyes”; and third place, Jacquelyn Bassford, “Untitled (In the Classroom …).”
[caption id="attachment_116" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="Middle school first place winner, Madeline Tilyou, with her teacher and Tom Erdmann"]
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The middle school winners are: first place, Madeline Tilyou, for “A Dream”; second place, Rachel Orenda Irvine,” for “Dyslexia is My Captor”; and third place, Ray T. Barnett, “Winter.”
[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignright" width="210" caption="High school winners: Zara Glidden – third place; Amanda Hunsucker – second; and Vivian M. Cook- first"]
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Lastly, the top poets for high school are: first place, Vivian M. Cook, for “Home”; second place, Zara Glidden, “Bemoaning Six O’Clock”; and third place, Zach Jones, “1,000 Paper Cranes.”
Vivian, a ninth-grader at the Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy, said she wrote her award-winning poem for a geography class. “The poem was a way for us to express how we felt about the human/world relationship,” she said. Vivian, 15, said she has written poems since fourth or fifth grade.
Shanti, a fifth-grader at Taylor Hicks Elementary School, said, “I like being able to put what I see and feel into words.” Shanti, 11, said she wants to be a writer when she grows up.
First place winners
High school
“Home,” by Vivian M. Cook
Each step taken, each foot placed down,
Supported by soil, by dirt, by the strength of the earth
Each piece of food placed in my mouth
Grown and nurtured by the caring hands of the earth
Each drop of water that gives me life,
flowing through rivers, the ground and the clouds,
flowing through me and through earth
Each moment that takes my breath away,
as I see stars, the sunset, a river, a tree,
these moments are created as I live and stand on this earth
Each trivial object that I hold in my hand
could not have its existence without one thing,
nothing, not me, not you, not anything
could have existence without the earth, without our earth
Each day that I step outside of my door,
I enter a home much larger than the one I have left,
one that can be tremendously frightening or incredibly beautiful,
a home that we like to call Earth.
Middle school
“A Dream,” by Madeline Tilyou
A dream is a door
A door to opportunity
To places never seen
Sounds never heard
Adventures not yet embarked upon
A dream is a hope
The hope for something new
Something better
For a better time
A better world
A dream is a burst of color for sightless eyes
The nameless force helping us stand
When everyone is sitting
Making us speak
When everyone is mute
Keeping us silent
When the noise becomes too much
Always pulling us forward
Even when all we want to do is hide
In the golden memories of happier days
Dreams are the fuel for our humanity
A universal tie
Stretching across all time
All boundaries
A dream is a door
A door with no lock.
Elementary school
“Forest Sunshine” by Shanti Ryan
A beautiful lake in the middle of forest trees
Golden sand with white, bubbling foam
Bright spots of yellow form into bees
A little turtle calls this home.
Fish lured to a sandy grave
By fishers and their pole -
Not here where nature’s quick to save
What the peaceful alone may behold.
Dark and gloomy skies turn clear
Rocks where cold winds blow
No malevolence here to fear
Only a stream, where water flows.
This peace knows no price
No boundaries hold it back
Seasons pass, the stream stays nice
Here, no humans track.
