Tzouanakis students honored for their poetry

Thursday, April 19, 2012
Amanda Allee and Vivian Savage of Tzouankis Intermediate School were recently honored in the 2012 Max Ehrmann Poetry Competition. The two recently attended an awards ceremony at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College where they each got to read their poems to the community.

By LAUREN BOUCHER

Staff Writer

A pair of Tzouanakis Intermediate School students have recently been awarded for their efforts in the 2012 Max Ehrmann Poetry Competition.

Students Amanda Allee and Vivian Savage of Karen Hirt's fourth and fifth grade split high ability class were among the 503 entries received from 386 individuals in six counties.

"They just really wanted it to be another form of art," Hirt said. "They were able to choose from the topics of city life, a piece of artwork or nature."

Allee chose to write about nature in a poem titled 'Grass':

Little blades

more thin and sleek

than sharp.

tiny drops collect on

you as if

fairies placed them

there. You are

free to bend

and be outside

I am isolated

...inside.

"One of the categories to write about was nature," explained Alee. "I thought it'd be fun to write about grass."

Each student was able to enter two poems, however only one each from Allee and Savage were chosen.

Savage chose to base her work off of the painting "The Banjo Player" by Henry Ossawa Tanner.

Her poem read like this:

My grandpa held me on his lap,

Telling me to strum softly.

He made me feel safe,

Teaching his grandson to play.

The banjo vibrated calmly,

In my arms.

The room was so silent.

Except for the two of us.

The dreams in my life

Came alive that day.

To play the banjo!

It was true.

"We did the competition to go along with our poetry unit," Hirt said. "I was just so excited that they won."

To celebrate the students win, the students were honored at a Thursday, April 12 awards cremony at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College

The winning poems will be displayed at the Vigo County Public Library.

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