Winners of the High School Poetry Contest were celebrated at the Annual Palm Beach County High School Poetry Contest Award Ceremony, kicking off the festival in the Crest Theatre, at Old School Square in Delray Beach.

Open to Palm Beach County public and private high school students, the five winners were selected from over 300 entries by Dr. Jeff Morgan of Lynn University who served as judge of the contest.

In addition to cash prizes, all five winners received a pair of tickets to Sizzling Spoken Word!, the Festival’s Performance Poetry Event, presented as part of Old School Square’s JAMnasium series. The Saturday night event featured Marc Smith, the founder of Slam Poetry, and Dominique Christina, Woman of the World Slam Champion, who visited Palm Beach County High Schools offering workshops and performances during the festival week. It is estimated that the programs reached over 2,000 students. Winners will also receive subscriptions to Poets & Writers Magazine.

The winners read their poems at the Festival’s Award Ceremony on January 18th. Select this link to read the the winning poems.

1^st Prize:
Diana Hauter, Wellington High, Grade 12, for “One Day Closer”

2^nd Prize:
Rhiannon O’Neil, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Grade 12, for “She”

3^rd Prize:
Cassandra Adair, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Grade 12, for “My Favorite Book”

4^th Prize:
Kayla Kirschenbaum, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Grade 11, for “Red, White, and Blue”

5^th Prize:
Brianna Steidle, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Grade 11, for “Auschwitz”