Check Out Mesa County Libraries 2021 Poetry Contest Winners

Neither pandemic, economic crisis, nor isolation can stop our inner poets from expressing themselves. Mesa County Public Libraries hosted a poetry contest for teens and adults, and the winners for 2021 have been announced.

Did you know April is National Poetry Month? According to Poets.org, National Poetry Month was launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996 to remind the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.

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The results are in.

The winners have been announced for the 2021 competition. Just yesterday, April 20, Mesa County Libraries shared the top three poems in both the adult and teen categories.

The hoops poets had to jump through.

Poems had to be submitted online.
Poems must be the original, previously unpublished work of the submitter.
The length of poems cannot exceed 40 lines.
Poems must be suitable for a general audience, e.g. no profanity, vulgarity, etc.
The contest is open to current Mesa County Libraries cardholders Grades 6-12 or Adults 18+.
By submitting a poem, contestants agreed to let Mesa County Libraries use their poems on the MCPL website. The copyright is retained by the author.
Poems were judged on originality, creativity, grammar, artistic quality, and adherence to the length limit of 40 lines.
Names were taken off each submission when judged to ensure impartiality.
The staff of Mesa County Libraries was not eligible for entry.

And the winners are...

Congratulation to Patricia Norrbom. Her poem, October, won first place in the adult category. Please enjoy this short excerpt:

The last of the leaves floating effortless in the wind
The autumn breeze caresses my face
My heart pounds as I walk up the steps...

Congratulations are also in order for Honor Blevins, first-place winner in the teen division, for the poem “Lacuna.” Here's a portion from this winning entry: