Susan R. Williamson, director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, and Blaise Allen, the festival’s director of community outreach, recently celebrated the winners of the annual Palm Beach County High School Poetry Contest.
The $100 first place prize went to Diana Hauter, an 18-year-old senior at Wellington High School, for her poem, “One Day Closer.”
The next four $25 winners were all students at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. They are in order of their finish:
• Rhiannon O’Neil, a 17-year-old senior from West Palm Beach, for her poem, “She.”
• Cassandra Adair, a 18-year-old senior who lives in Wellington, for her poem, “My Favorite Book.”
• Kayla Kirschenbaum, a 16-year-old junior who lives in Lake Park, for her poem, “Red, White and Blue.”
• Brianna Steidle, a 16-year-old junior who lives in Jupiter, for her poem, “Auschwitz.”
Open to Palm Beach County public and private high school students, teacher and poet Lorraine Stanchich-Brown reviewed 307 entries, narrowing the list to 25 finalists. Dr. Jeff Morgan of Lynn University selected the winner.
The winners read their poems at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival’s award ceremony on Jan. 18 and had their winning poems posted on the official web site at www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org.
ABOVE: Poetry contest winners Cassandra Adair, Rhiannon O’Neil, Diana Hauter, Kayla Kirschenbaum and Brianna Steidle.
