The winners of Cupertino’s first poetry contest were announced Monday.
“Thanks to all who entered this first-ever citywide competition. We received over 100 entries. There are many talented and accomplished writers in our community,” wrote Dave Denny in an email. “The judges and I wish to extend hearty congratulations to the winning poets.”
Denny is Cupertino’s first official Poet Laureate. A public awards ceremony honoring the winners will be held at City Hall on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
The winning poems will be displayed n the Cupertino Library, and Cupertino Patch will publish some of the entries at a later date.
Following are the winners in each age category, their prize winnings and the title of their poem:
Children (ages 6-12) Judge: Laura Oliver
First Place: $100 to Advait Patil for “Lessons from Nature”
Second Place: $50 to Hope Nguyen for “Nature’s Beauty”
Third Place: $25 to Julie Swei for “Thanksgiving”
Teens (ages 13-17) Judge: Jennifer Swanton Brown
First Place: $100 to Manasa Gogineni for “My Cursive Backbone”
Second Place: $50 to Niveditha Achanta for “September 11, 2001”
Third Place: $25 to Meghana Ravikumar for “Five Senses”
Adult (ages 18 and up) Judge: Sally Ashton
First Place: $100 to Stephanie Pressman for “Quantum Gravity, a Love Story”
Second Place: $50 to Amanda Williamsen for “Seafood”
Third Place: $25 to Jennifer Swanton Brown for “Rural Cemetery”
Editor's note: The attached YouTube video is about Cupertino Poet Laureate Dave Denny produced by Stanford journalism student Anna Li.
