Shore Poetry Contest Winners To Be Honored April 24 At Washington College's O'Neill Literary House

Chestertown, MD, April 17, 2003 — The winners of the 2003 Eastern Shore Poetry Contest will be honored in a public reading and awards presentation at Washington College's O'Neill Literary House on Washington Avenue in Chestertown, Thursday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Eastern Shore County Arts Councils of Talbot, Caroline, Queen Anne's, Kent and Cecil counties, the annual Eastern Shore Poetry Contest invites submissions in all age groups from children to senior citizens. Erin Murphy, a lecturer in English and visiting associate director of the O'Neill Literary House, served as this year's judge.
The winners of the 2003 Eastern Shore Poetry Contest in the category of Children and Youth, Grades 1-8, are: First Place, “ Life Story” by Will MacIntosh of Chestertown (Kent School, Grade 5); Second Place, “Teachers at Night” by Benjamin Dryer of Elkton (Kenmore Elementary, Grade 5); and Third Place, a tie between “When I Moved Away” by Kristin Henry of Stevensville (Bayside Elementary, Grade 5) and “The Wolf” by Elizabeth A. Sughrue of Grasonville (The Key School, Grade 6).
The 2003 winners in the category of Students, Grade 9-12, are: First Place, “Three A.M.” by James Barlow of Millington (Queen Anne's County High School, Grade 12); Second Place, “Halfway Point to the Middle of Nowhere” by Christina M. Sughrue of Grasonville (The Key School, Grade 11); Third Place, “Daybreak” by Anna Rubin of Neavitt (St. Michael's High School, Grade 12).
The 2003 winners in the category of Adults, Age 18-59, are: First Place, “Autumn” by Ann E. Dorbin of Trappe; Second Place, “I Cannot Lift This House” by James Dissette of Chestertown; and Third Place, “Synesthesia” by Maggie Creshkoff of Port Deposit.
In the category of Seniors, Age 60 plus, the following take the 2003 awards: First Place, “Pop Ziegler,” and Second Place, “On Leaving a Marriage,” both by Dr. Ann Hennessy of Rock Hall; and a Third Place tie between “Kent Island Blues” by Alex Johnson of Chester, and “The Old Darnell Farm” by Mary C. Godfrey of Sudlersville.
“I was impressed by the quality of work submitted, and by the variety in the entries,” Murphy said. “The themes of the winning poems range from nostalgia about the development of the Eastern Shore to theories on why teachers are scary at night. Some made me think, some made me laugh, and all of them made me glad to have so many talented writers in our part of Maryland.”