By Nola Minogue ’21
While many annual events have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Beverly Public Library is remaining committed to holding its 25th annual Teen Poetry Contest. The Contest accepts poetry from teens in grades 6-12 who live or attend school in Beverly. “I think poetry is one of the many forms of creativity that keeps our minds engaged and allows us to express our feelings and emotions,” said Teen Librarian Katie Nelson. “Last year was a complicated year, to say the least, and without an outlet, be it poetry, art, music, making videos on Tik Tok, there is nowhere for the overwhelming feelings and emotions to go. Hopefully, student’s feel encouraged to share their poetry and allow us to celebrate their artistry. Also, cash prizes! That doesn’t hurt!”
Nelson was recently appointed head of the department after the previous Teen Librarian, Meghan Karasin, was selected as Assistant Director of the library. This is her first year running the contest, which has been heavily modified in order to follow state regulations. The reading of the poems and awards ceremony will be presented virtually. Poems are judged by Kevin Carey, Liz Ciampa, and Colleen Michaels, local published poets. Once the deadline closes on Thursday, March 3rd at 4pm, Nelson will take all of the poems, number them and then submit them to the judges with only the number as identification. This way the poetry is judged completely anonymously.
“We receive anywhere from 500-700 poems a year,” commented Nelson. There are two age categories, grades 6-8 and grades 9-12, and the winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd) in each category will receive cash prizes. The prize money is sponsored by the Friends of the Beverly Public Library, along with a donation from Tech Service Librarian Joan Nelson in honor of her son Alec J. Nelson.
For more information on the contest and how to apply, teens can visit https://beverlypubliclibrary.org/teens/poetry/, or email Katie Nelson knelson@noblenet.org.
