Three talented Oxford Middle School students earned top honors in the 2003 Oxford Public Library Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) Teen Poetry Contest.
“I’m pretty impressed by our teenagers here in Oxford,” said Charli Osborne, Department Head of Young Adult Services at Oxford Public Library.
Seventh-grader Jenifer Bizzotto won first place for her poem entitled, “Who Before Me” and received an honorable mention for her poem “Beautiful, Wonderful Ocean.”
“Our Love,” a poem by eighth-grader Alisha Saigh, earned second place.
Eighth-grader Krystyna Graves’ untitled poem took third place.
The top three poems will go on to compete against other local winners in the national VOYA contest.
VOYA is a magazine for librarians who’s focus is youth-related services.
National VOYA winners receive a $20 cash prize and a copy of the April 2004 issue of VOYA, in which the winning poems will be published for National Poetry Month.
Osborne and her friend, Patti Sullivan, a published poet with a “good vibe for young adults,” served as this year’s contest judges.
“I’m always amazed that they are willing to open themselves up like this,” Osborne said. “Poetry is really personal. Some of these kids you can really tell they put their hearts into what they were writing about.”
“Being willing to put words down on paper and give them to strangers to read says a lot for their courage and their conviction. If they keep writing this way, who knows how far they can go,” she added.
Osborne said the contest is designed to “help kids hone their writing skills” and let “them know it doesn’t matter how young they are, they still have valid thoughts and feelings.”
“It’s a way for them to express themselves,” she said.
The poetry writing contest also helps promote books, reading and of course, the library.
“Without the writer, we wouldn’t have books or reading,” Osborne said. “And (students) can find all kinds of great resources here at the library to help them write.”
Osborne wished to thank Oxford teachers for their support and cooperation.
“Some teachers give extra time in class (to write) or extra credit for submitting poems in the contest,” she said.
The poetry contest is a “pretty cool way to partner with the schools,” Osborne added.
VOYA’s annual poetry contest is open to students ages 12 to 18.
Contestants can submit poems up to 30 lines on any topic.