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Sarah Mook Poetry Contest for Students (Grades K-12)

By Submitted via press release January 16, 2015

Wow, eleven years! We really appreciate the continuing support of so many teachers, parents, and especially all of the young writers. Postmark deadline for entries is March 31, 2015. 

 

Cash awards are $100 First Prize, $50 Second Prize, $25 Third Prize in each of four categories: kindergarten through second, third through fifth, sixth through eighth, and ninth through twelfth.

A fund has been established by Sarah's family specifically for the purpose of funding the awards.

 

Optional donations are given in Sarah’s name each year to a designated charity. This year’s donations, as they have been for the past four years, will go to Smile Train, an organization providing free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries. Last year, the donation to Smile Train was $415 and provided two surgeries. An optional donation of $5.00 will be greatly appreciated. Please make donations payable to Sarah Mook Outreach Fund.

 

While cash awards and charitable giving are important, the purpose of the contest and the focus of our effort is always the young poets and their poems.Careful consideration is given to every poem submitted, and the finalist’s poems are read numerous times before any decisions are made. Final judge Marie Kane takes great care in judging each poem and provides a detailed commentary on the poetic merits of each of the winning poems. Previous winners and runners-up are allowed to enter again (as they often have over the years) provided they use different poems.

 

RULES FOR THE CONTEST:

 

1. Enter up to TWO POEMS (No more) of the STUDENT’S ORIGINAL WORK. Poems can

    be of any length, on any subject, and in any style. Poems should be typed or word-processed.

 

2. Please include a SEPARATE COVER SHEET with the student's name, grade, school name

    (HOME SCHOOLERS WELCOME) and the poem titles. The student's name, address,   

    or school should not appear on the poems themselves.

 

3. To promote fairness, any student whose poems have been previously read by our final judge

    Marie Kane in this contest or any other is advised to submit different poems. Entries will not

    be selected if recognized by the judge.

 

5. Teachers: When submitting a class set of poems, please include your name, address and  

    contact information for the school, list of student names, their poem titles, grade level for

    each student, and a self-addressed-stamped-envelope or email address to receive the results.

 

Please note that a donation is optional. All poems received will be eligible for prizes. However, entries must be POSTMARKED by March 31, 2015. Winners will be announced in late May.

 

       Mail entries to:    Sarah Mook Poetry Prize 

                                  896 Ferncliff Road  

                                  Poultney, VT 05764

 

Thank you. We look forward to reading your poems!

        

David Mook and Family        

Email:  davidmook@aol.com