The new lectern in the library’s Community Room was stately and polished. It looked impressive, but six-year-old Luba Ferencevych eyed it warily. If she stood behind it, no one would see her. She tried peeking out from either side, but that didn’t work either.
So, finally, Luba stepped in front of the lectern, took the microphone and read her award-winning poem, “Yummy Nature.”
She was one of six honorees in the library’s 10th Annual Timothy Mumford Memorial Poetry Contest. The following people were recognized on Sunday afternoon, April 27:
5-6: Luba Ferencevych, age 6, “Yummy Nature”
7-9: Casey Steiner. age 8, “Special Gifts”
7-9: Christina Sorce, age 9, “Conversations with my Grandfather”
16-18: Miriam Sefcikova, age 16, “Poison”
16-18: Sarah Giardina, age 16, “To Wish on Paper Birds”
Overall: Liam Van Horn, age 18, “Concrete Jungle”
The lectern wasn’t the only thing that was new at the annual event. For the first time, a poet submitted a DVD because he couldn’t attend the ceremony. Liam Van Horn, a senior at Storm King School, was away on a college visit. But the audience still got to see him perform his poem.
Another innovation is that the judges (John Kelly, Sharon Thomson and Elissa Zahn) each got to read one of their poems.
There were fewer entries than last year, but there were submissions from six different schools. One of the winners, Miriam Sefickova, is a resident of Slovakia. She has been at Storm King School for three years. In writing her poem, she tried thinking in English, but it didn’t always work. She had to translate a few thoughts after they came to her in her native language.
The recognized poets received gift certificates to Barnes and Noble. But they weren’t the only winners. There was so much cake that people visiting the library were invited to join the party and help themselves.
