Arlington Heights Student Poets Receive State and National Recognition

Arlington Heights Student Poets Receive State and National Recognition

Three students from St. Peter Lutheran School in Arlington Heights received high honors from the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest.

Seventh grader Hannah Van Meveren placed 4th in the National competition. Her poem, "Mango Haiku," used sensory imagery to describe a fruit from the inside out, using a haiku format for each verse. She received a cash prize as well as a hardbound copy of the national student award winners' poems for herself and her school library.

At the state level, Eighth grader Elizabeth Gaare's poem, "1862," based on the Ray Bradbury short story, "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," received the 3rd place award. Also, Eighth grader Hannah Foster received 1st Honorable Mention for her poem, "Doctor," written in the style of a Kenning, which is based on Old English and Norse poetic forms.

The National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) is a non-profit organization, exclusively educational and literary. Its purpose is to recognize the importance of poetry with respect to national cultural heritage. It is dedicated solely to the furtherance of poetry on the national level and serves to unite poets in the bonds of fellowship and understanding.

All three students' poems were written as assignments for Amy Picchiotti's Literature classes at St. Peter. According to Mrs. Picchiotti, "students need to have good literary models as inspiration for their writing, and when given the examples and structure, their creativity really soars."