Polk County middle and high school students, along with their families and English teachers, gathered in Branscomb Auditorium at Florida Southern College on May 11 for the Polk County Schools Poetry Contest Awards.
The release of this year’s poetry anthology marks 50 years of the publication with 254 published student poets.
The double-sided dual anthology — flip and invert to go from the middle school edition to the high school — is a collection of original poetry by students in grades six through twelve. Copies are given to the poets and their teachers. A limited number of additional copies can be purchased by request for $10 by emailing [email protected].
This year, Isabel Kramer, a sixth grader at Rochelle School of the Arts, taught by Kimberly Nolen, received the Mary Mayberry Award for Excellence in Poetry. The middle school edition takes its title “America is a Beautiful, Giant Kite” from her poem “The Tour Guide’s Lie.”…