Library announces Swampscott poetry contest finalists

SWAMPSCOTT – The publishing world is tough; just ask Swampscott’s teenage poets.After receiving more than 200 submissions from almost as many writers, Swampscott Public Library officials have named 14 finalists for the annual Lee Golomb Cadiff Teen Poetry Contest, according to Contest Organizer and Young Adult Librarian Sandy Moltz.”It’s a lot of work, but I love doing it,” said Moltz. “It’s great to see kids awarded for creative activity.”This year’s finalists include seven students from Swampscott Middle School. Kate Brodsky, Nick Dell, Olivia Forman, August Solone, and Alexander Zavriyev are all in the eighth grade, while Alexandra Vogel and Julie Zabar are in the seventh grade. Finalist Elise Friedman is an eighth-grade student at Shore Country Day School. Swampscott High School students named as finalists include Elana Feldman and Thomas McEnany, who are both sophomores, juniors Joseph Medoff and Paulina Perlin, senior Jillian Hebert, and freshman Claire Weaver-Zeman.This is the seventh year that the Swampscott Public Library has held the contest, which is named in memory of a local poet and poetry lover and open to Swampscott residents in Grades 7 through 12 , said Moltz. Awards will be given for first, second, and third Place, as well as three Honorable Mentions and a Donor’s Prize, for both high school and middle school students. Members of the local poetry club, The Tin Box Poets, have done a ?blind judging,’ Moltz said, but the specific prizes will not be announced until the awards ceremony and reading at the library on Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m.Moltz said that the entries reflect the diversity of Swampscott teens’ interests and experiences.”There have been all different kinds of poetry from rap style to classical, and they have run the gamut from very personal works about a death in the family to snowboarding,” she said.Finalist Julie Zabar said that she was shocked when her poem – which was about achieving inner peace – was selected by the judges. Zabar said that she had never written poetry before and didn’t even read poetry that much. But once a week, Zabar said her English class sets aside time to “write for fun,”and she decided to give poetry a try.”I was shocked. It was my first year, and I know a lot of people who haven’t been named a finalist before,” said the seventh-grade student at Swampscott Middle School.Moltz said that calling the finalists to hear their surprised reactions is her favorite part of the contest.”Before I give them the good news, they ask if they have a book overdue,” Moltz said.Members of the public are encouraged to attend the Awards Ceremony at the Library on Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. For more information about the contest and to read the finalists’ poems, please visithttp://www.noblenet.org/swampscott/teenscene/lee-golomb-cadiff-teen-poetry-contest/.