The award winners at the Timothy Mumford Memorial Poetry Contest change every year. But a part of the audience remains the same.
As in the past, friends of the family were at the May 1 ceremony at the library to pay tribute to the talented young man who died in his sleep at age 24.
This year we learned something new about him. “He was just a normal kid,” Warren Mumford said of his son. “He was a Cub Scout, a trumpet player and a pretty good piano student.”
As Tim got older, he put a pencil behind his ear and carried a notebook with him. If something caught his attention, he would write it down. Later, he might fill a large sheet of paper with his thoughts. And some of those thoughts turned into verse.
“Tim would be surprised,” Mr. Mumford said, “that one of his poems is still alive.” He might also be surprised that the competition that is named for him has reached overseas.
O. Sarah Adeghite was the winner for the 13-15 age group. She saw the contest on line, and assumed that it was being held in Cornwall, England. She submitted her entry by email.
Sarah, who has a glowing reputation in Great Britain, was one of 78 poets to enter the 10th annual competition. Since there are no geographic boundaries for the contest, her work was considered along with the entries from poets who live closer to the library.
Charlotte Dunaief, who organized the event, was going to have one of the judges read the poem. But, instead, she asked Sarah to submit a video.
Four of the other five winners were present. They were:
5-6 Macie Bea Stermer
7-9 Nicholas Costanzo
10-12 Benjamin Harrell
13-15 O. Sarah Adeghite
16-18 John C. DiLillo
Overall: Katie Murphy.
Warren and Mary Mumford now live in Cape Cod. They stood near the window away from the podium in the front of the room. At the conclusion of his remarks, Mr. Mumford offered some advice to the young people in the audience. “Create something that’s mysterious and lives on,” he said. “It will touch you and other people as well.”
