The League of Minnesota Poets Presents
The Manningham Poetry Trust Minnesota Student Award Winners 2013
Foreword The Manningham Student Poetry Contest is designed to promote and encourage poetry in middle and high school students. The Leauge of Minnesota Poets hosts this statewide competition. The winners receive an honorary membership to The League of Minnesota Poets as well as inclusion in this publication. The winners are then entered into the National Manningham Student Poetry Contest, sponsored by the National Federation for State Poets Societies. Full rules and guidelines for the contest are outlined at the end of this publication. I would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s contest as well as all the students who entered the 2013 Manningham contest. We are honored and proud to have students willing to take a bold step and submit their poetry to our contest. We appreciate all the time and effort the students put into their poems and into advancing their own craft with words. I would also like to thank the teachers who have taken the time to share and encourage participation in this contest. Without their effort of teachers everywhere working with their students on writing poetry, this would not be possible, and we would not have such a pool of talent in the competition. I would like to thank Barbara Funke for judging this year’s contest. We appreciate the time and effort you put into reading and reviewing this year’s poems.
Sincerely,
Peter William Stein Youth Manningham Chair
Copywrite 2013 by the League of Minnesota Poets All rights remain with the original authors of the poems
Senior Division First Place
Don’t Your skin is not paper, don’t cut it. Your face is not a mask, don’t hide it. Your size is not a book, don’t judge it. Your life is not a film, don’t end it.
Trevor P. Gabrick New Hope, MN
Second Place
Perseverance I’m wearing my armor and heading to war And I’m gonna fight like never before I now have a team, my army has grown They give me help, so I’m not all alone. I fought solo too long, all by myself In a dangerous place – like a valley of Hell I was, indeed, a prisoner of war I was taken captive for 12 years of more But, no matter what, I never gave up ‘Cause I knew if I didn’t I’d become really tough My enemy took much, but couldn’t take all I still have the strength to get up when I fall Hope, courage and wisdom, are all things I hold dear With all this, I know that I CAN persevere.
Kayla Daniels St. Paul, MN
Third Place
Tulips Tall green stems, velvet leaves, Soft black centers Bordered by a golden ring, Reaching for the sun. Strong dark roots Carefully reaching, Searching for a drop of water Deep within the ground. Brave, beautiful tulips, The last of the year, Reaching up towards the sun, Reaching towards the sky. Oh, how we ought to be Like the tulips: Brave in trial, Standing strong, Reaching up through all opposition Reaching for the sky.
Erin Brine-Doyle Pequot Lakes, MN
Junior Division First Place
Sonnet I A baby bluebird, coat yet downy soft Sat in a nest atop a tall old tree. She quite enjoyed her life so high aloft, Her world only as far as she could see. But when she took that cautious leap away, She jumped into a place she’d never known. The bluebird realized she would surely stray Despite her family’s cries to not leave home. Without delay she flew to distant lands New sights, new sounds, a very different life. She couldn’t wait to touch both lakes and sands, Despite the fact that freedom comes with strife. A sedentary life she couldn’t trust – For young Bluebird was filled with wanderlust.
Ruby Dennis Minneapolis, MN
Second Place
I Don’t Understand! I don’t understand, Can you give me a hand? Why things happen the way they do. Do you? I don’t understand! About how the local popcorn stand Doesn’t sell, SAND! I don’t understand why you and I, Cry, Over little things, Like a bear spilling milk Or a child ripping silk! I don’t understand A WHOLE LOT of things, Like why bananas are bland, Or why people sing! But I know a whole lot about something, NOBODY KNOWS! Me.
Grace Brintnall Houston, MN
Third Place
Life The world in winter is a popsicle wondering when it will thaw again. Whirling winds across a wasteland of white Like a broken, cold, unfeeling soul That grapples for a reason to live. A sunrise, like colorful candy corn Bursts forth like a blooming flower, Cheering my heart with sweet symphonies, Birds burst forth in gorgeous songs of joy. Like a bursting flower, spring springs skywardly; The grass a green spear in the sky. Lilies showing breathtaking colors Like a glowing soul with newfound faith. Summer is like a charging bull, Silentl stares the burning sun at me. Summer gathers close around me, Like a caring, enduring faith. Sunset is like a closing flower, Bringing calm to all living things. Crickets chirp cheerfully in the dark, While a weary soul rests comfortably So in a flash, warm summer is gone, Replaced by cold, golden oak tree sentries. And though the body withers and dies, The soul lives forevermore.
Kelsey Brintnall Prior Lake, MN
1.
THE LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA POETS Twenty-Sixth Annual Manningham Poetry Competition State and National Awards for School Year 2013-2014 www.mnpoets.org Contest Entry Rules There are two divisions; Grades 6-8 [Junior Division] and Grades 9-12 [Senior Division] No Entry Fee
2.
Poems must be original but may have been published and/or have won previous awards.
3.
All students in Minnesota attending public, parochial, private schools, and home-schooled are eligible. Only one entry per student is allowed.
4.
Submit two (2) copies of each poem. On both copies include (in upper left hand corner) the name, Junior or Senior, of the division entered. One copy only must also contain in the upper right hand corner, the following: 1) the student’s name and complete home address 2) student’s grade and division-junior or senior, 3) name, address and phone number of the school and 4) the following signed statement: This is my original work, student’s signature
5.
The poem is to be typed or computer-generated. No Handwritten copies will be accepted. No poems more than 50 lines long. If the poem continues on more than one page, staple the pages together.
6.
Please no large print, illustrations, unusual typefaces (Gothic, script, etc.) or colored fonts. Be considerate of your judges. They love to see your work, but it needs to be in the prescribed format to make their work more efficient.
7.
Students may email submissions as long as they follow the rules outlined above. Poems may be electronically signed, or signed and scanned, but the signature must be present.
Nationally recognized poets judge the contest. The top ten poems will be selected at the Minnesota state level for submission to the National Manningham Contest. There they may win cash prizes and publication. Poems selected at the state level will be published in a chapbook, which will be forwarded to the student authors and to participating schools. Mail entries to:
Or by email:
Peter Stein, MN Manningham Poetry Competition Chair 2029 103rd Ave NW Coon Rapids, MN 55433 pwilliamstein@yahoo.com
ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED OR EMAILED BY January 15, 2014