Islesboro Central School held an assembly on March 6 to honor winners of its tenth annual Creative Writing Contest. The contest’s goal has been to encourage students to value the art of writing through positive feedback and recognition from their teachers, peers and community members for excellence in writing. The contest gives the school, as well as the community, a chance to participate in the public celebration of its most talented student writers.
Students in grades 6-8 submitted poems and prose based on the theme “Freedom.” High school students submitted their best writing efforts on any subject. At the assembly, the winning pieces were read aloud by a group of writers recruited from the community who took part in judging the entries.
This year’s panel of judges included editors, published writers and poets, former English and literature teachers and journalists. The group included Ruth Hartley, Mary Hauprich, Marny Heinen, Bonnie Hughes, Seth Johnson, Charlie Oldham, Sandy Oliver, Diana Roberts, Martin Steingesser and Judy Tierney.
At the high school level, first place for prose went to Rory Diffin for a vivid story conveying the state of mind of a man confined to a mental institution. Natasha Nelson received second place with a piece titled “Success, a Relative Term,” and third place went to Cassi Gray for a clever narrative entitled “The Mystery Vicinity” about a secret village of skittles.
High school poetry winners included Cassi Gray, whose first place entry was a poem asking, “What Do You Expect From Me?” Second place winner Kate Hauprich wrote “Out My Window” about a storm whose aftermath evokes a Hawaiian paradise. Third place winner Nikki Pisciotta effectively captured the brittle cold of winter with her poem “Childhood Coldness.”
In the middle school prose division, first place went to Keely O’Connell for her creepy yet sophisticated story “The Pale Man’s Other.” Second place went to Richard Coombs for a gritty piece set in ancient Rome titled “Gladiators: Fighting for Freedom,” while Colin Schmidt took third place with a cleverly-crafted tale that suggests that even a slug is capable of appreciating freedom.
Middle-level poetry awards went to first place winner Sarah Bullock, whose poem, “Free to Run,” pulled the reader into the poem’s world with its compelling images. Second place honors went to Tim Kerr for his amusing poem “Free Gum.” Richard Coombs took third place with “Freedom of Soul.”
Plans are underway to produce a book that will include all the winning entries of the past ten years of Islesboro Central School’s Creative Writing Contest. Students are currently busy keyboarding over one hundred pages of writing for inclusion in the book, while other students are standing by to take over the formatting process. Art students are creating illustrations related to the various themes throughout the years and coming up with a cover image. Funding is needed to print the book, and any donations toward this project would be greatly appreciated. Donations for the book project can be made to Islesboro Central School for the Creative Writing Contest book project.