Junior Division Grades 6 through 8th
Judge: Jana Bouma, Madison Lake, Minnesota
Cash Awards
1st Place “This Big, Dark World” Bella Robinson, Portland, Oregon, Grade 6
2nd Place “My Childhood Poem” William Riebel, Salem, Oregon, Grade 8
3rd Place “Thinking Ocean” Caitlin Buffington, Centennial Colorado, Grade 8
4th Place “Views of a Vermillion Vineyard” Hannah Philip, Coppell, Texas, Grade 8
5th Place “Ode in His Memory” Remy Finn, Dallas, Texas, Grade 8
Honorable Mentions
1st HM “A Wish or a Want?” Khaki Criss, Dallas, Texas, Grade 8
2nd HM “A Little Too Familiar” Rachel Haynes, Centennial, Colorado, Grade 8
3rd HM I spoke a single word. Marcus Beebe, Jr., Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, Grade 8
4th HM “Ode to a Scrunchy” Catherine Gillette, Ferandina Beach, Florida, Grade 8
5th HM “Swish Swoosh!” Zainab Nazeer, Lombard, Illinois, Grade 6
Senior Division Grades 9 through 12th
Judge: Christina Flaugher, Mapleton, Minnesota
Cash Awards
1st Place “apothecary of cheongdam-dong” Sarah Kim, Hinsdale, Illinois Grade 12
2nd Place “Flying Pitch, Skip” Gloria Wang, Vienna, Virginia Grade 11
3rd Place “Home Is Far from Where I Stand” Gloria Wang, Vienna, Virginia Grade 11
4th Place “Gut Reflex” Isabella Jiang, Cresskill, New Jersey Grade 11
5th Place “and if only” Isabella Jiang, Cresskill, New Jersey Grade 11
Honorable Mentions
1st HM “Monsoon Emblem” Isabella Jiang, Cresskill, New Jersey Grade 11
2nd HM “Alchemy Hour” Jenna Sawyer, Uniontown, Ohio Grade 11
3rd HM “Pluto” Mykaela Reed, Sugar Grove, Ohio Grade 10
4th HM “When the Dinner Bell Rings” Gloria Wang, Vienna, Virginia Grade 11
5th HM “Art Poetica” Joe Chen, Lima, Ohio Grade 12
Special mentions
“Bedtime Story” Isabella Jiang, Cresskill, New Jersey Grade 11
“Burned Pancakes” Ellen Pearson, Beaverton, Oregon Grade 12
“Video Game Girl” Alana Scherer, West Des Moines, Iowa Grade 10
“We Meet Again, Beethoven” Nathan Phuong, Fort Wayne, Indiana Grade 11
“Elegy for the Lost Soul” Gloria Wang, Vienna, Virginia Grade 11
Judge’s Comments: WOW! What an honor to be asked to judge these stunning poems. I have so much hope for the next generation of poets in this country after reading these poems. Going in I thought this would be easy and these amazingly talented young people blew me out of the water. The top 40 poems were all strong, beautiful and touched a chord deep inside me. It made the judging extremely difficult. I wish I could have given twenty more awards. I got it down to fifteen and couldn’t go any lower. The wisdom and poise of these poem is stunning. I want to get know every single one of the winners because there’s so much that can learned from them. Thank you for the chance to experience these amazing works.