The word is in: with her beautifully constructed free verse Georgia O’Keefe, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 1948 Photograph by Philippe Halsman , Mount Madonna School (MMS) sophomore Julia Gratton wowed the judges and took first prize in the 21st annual Santa Cruz County High School Poetry Competition. In addition, MMS sophomore CeCe Moreno received an Honorable Mention for her free/blank verse poem, The Look . A record number of more than 35 MMS high school students submitted to the poetry contest this year.
“I would like to acknowledge every student who made the effort to send in their poems,” commented high school English and Creative Writing teacher, Melissa Sanders-Self. “Some students had been rejected in previous years, but continued to try, which is the only way to ultimate success. Taking risks allows all of us to develop our own individual voices. Although every poem I felt was deserving was not accepted into the competition anthology, I believe creative effort is its own reward and rejection is a great form of learning when it inspires us to try again until we succeed. MMS students understand the big win is in the learning.”
MMS students study several kinds of poetry in high school: sestinas, sonnets, villanelles, free verse, blank verse, odes, ballads, lyrics, prose-poems and haiku, and are well educated in poetic forms and possibilities.
‘Several of the MMS students accepted this year into the competition are veterans: Julia Gratton, CeCe Moreno, Holden Smith and Lexi Julien. As each these students also had work accepted last year, and the competition judges are different every year, I think these students can confidently feel they have work that stands out to all professional poets,” said Sanders-Self.
The annual competition is sponsored by Poetry Santa Cruz; a public reading and awards ceremony will be held May 22 at 7:00pm at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (note: If you are unable to attend the reading in person, it is being recorded and will be broadcast on Community TV in the next month).
Some 360 high school students from Santa Cruz County entered the competition. From those entries, six MMS students had a total of eight works selected for the final anthology of 51 poems.
Congratulations to:
Julia Gratton, 10th, First Prize, Georgia O’Keefe, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 1948 Photograph by Philippe Halsman
CeCe Moreno, 10th, Honorable Mention, The Look
Holden Smith, 10th, Children of the Stars and Unlikely Infinite
Lexi Julien, 11th, Lucky and Overload
Pedro Aguirre, 11th, An Average Sponge
Saniya Lakka, 10th, My Mission
This year Julia Gratton has the honor of winning First Prize in the competition. Her work received an honorable mention last year but she by-passed third and second place to go straight to the top.
“When I originally read Julia’s poem I knew it was special both in form and content,’ commented Sanders-Self. ‘She is able to use her imagination and channel it through language beyond her years, creating a sophisticated poignant effect. Her free verse takes risks and brings rewards. She is clearly naturally gifted as a writer and poet and I am overjoyed that her poem is getting the recognition it deserves.
‘CeCe Moreno’s poem is a completely different free/blank verse piece. It delivers the universal emotions inherent in familial love. Lexi Julien and Holden Smith each had two poems selected, and also choose free verse to express images and emotions that will leave you thinking about the nature of being human, the darkness involved and the light nature holds for us all.
‘Saniya Lakka wrote a beautiful villanelle, very effectively using the structure of the poem, which has a repeating refrain, to communicate her theme, while Pedro Aguirre’s prose poem was inspired by pure silliness and ended up being oddly symbolic and powerful.
“At MMS we place a high value on creative self-expression. We believe ‘Experiencing the creative process allows students to overcome perceived limitations and opens the possibility for intuitive intelligence to emerge.’ I am touched and moved by the abilities and efforts of all our high school creative writers,’ said Sanders-Self, ‘and I encourage them to continue sharing their voices and styles, and to continue submitting and publishing their unique words which make all of our own lives deeper and more meaningful.’
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Nestled among the redwoods on 355 mountaintop acres, Mount Madonna is a safe and nurturing college-preparatory school that supports students in becoming caring, self-aware and articulate critical thinkers, who are prepared to meet challenges with perseverance, creativity and integrity. The CAIS and WASC accredited program emphasizes academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Located on Summit Road between Gilroy and Watsonville.