Walnut Creek Kids of All Ages Bring Poetry Alive Saturday

If you think that poetry is the stuff of academia's crusty towers or of books gathering dust in some remote shelf of the library, think again. And, no, people aren't just writing and reciting their poems in slams taking place in San Francisco, Berkeley or other urban centers. 

Kids in Walnut Creek are writing poems. That was pretty evident Saturday morning in the Oak View Room of the Walnut Creek Library, where young poets from second grade to high school shared their literary flights of imagination, metaphor and musical rhythms.

These students had participated in the the Walnut Creek Library Foundation's third annual student poetry contest, and the winners recited their works before a packed crowd of parents, friends and teachers. 

These girls and boys were among students from across the city who submitted 254 works. They took the phrase "If I could, I would ... " and ran with it, creating poems of varying lengths, styles, complexity and topics: 

I could let my feet sink
into the soft sand
let the cold, salty water
curl between my toes
like slippers
I could wear for a while. 
--Kate Jennings, Parkmead Elementary, third grade

Creative writing students in the MFA program at St. Mary's College judged the works and awarded first-, second- and third-place distinctions and honorable mentions to students in these age categories: kindergarten through third grade; fourth and five grade; sixth through eighth grade; and ninth through 12th grades. 

Cheryl Dumesnil, a prize-winning poet, writing teacher from Walnut Creek and mother of two, emceed Saturday's ceremony. The contest's theme, she said, was appropriate because there are so many depressing events in the news these days. Maybe young people have some answers, she said, visions of the ways that people can work together to make the world better. Writing poems on this theme, she suggested, offers kids a way to tell us how they would make the world they live in a better place—if they could. 

"If was fun to empty my mind on a piece of paper," Parkmead Elementary fifth-grader Colette Shaw said about writing the poem "Grandma's Mountain House," which won her first place in the grades 4-5 category. Colette said she loves writing, and her father, Clint Shaw, said she has been filling notebooks with stories since she was in first grade. 

Dorris-Eaton School sixth-grader James Lamb wanted to write something that spoke to an issue people don't discuss much: illiteracy. His first-place poem describes wanting to learn the "Code Words" that he would teach to his friends everywhere and to neighboring towns, and to people in Africa, India and China. "Everyone would read the words/But no one will,/If nobody teaches me/I would if I could." 

The Library Foundation organized the "If I Could, I Would" contest and celebration as part of National Poetry month. All contest participants received certificates. The poetry reading will be broadcast on Walnut Creek TV on dates to be announced. 

Kindergarten-third grade:
First place: "Shells," Sofia Iantorno, Walnut Heights Elementary, second grade
Second place:  "If I Could, I Would," Kate Jennings, Parkmead Elementary, third grade 
Third place: "The Last Colors," Kirsten Hexemer, Walnut Heights Elementary, third grade
Honorable mention: "The Key," Ella Jensen, Parkmead Elementary, third grade

Grades 4 and 5
First place: "Grandma's Mountain House," Colette Shaw, Parkmead Elementary, fifth grade
Second place: "The World's Largest Hot Dog," Tres Ridley, Dorris-Eaton School, fourth grade
Third place: "A New Element," Ethan Tai, Dorris-Eaton School, fourth grade
Honorable mention: "The Seed," Olivia Rosenstern, Bancroft Elementary, fifth grade

Grades 6 and 8
First place: "Code Words," Jack Lamb, Dorris-Eaton School, sixth grade
Second place: "Sine Waves," Ian Stuertz, Dorris-Eaton School, eighth grade
Third place: "If I Could I Would ... Explore the World in an Animal's Perspective," Montana Dunn, Dorris-Eaton School, eighth grade
Honorable mention: "A Lost Love," Max Yun, Dorris-Eaton School, seventh grade

Grades 9-12  
First place: "to uncle," Natalie Horan, Las Lomas High, 11th grade
Second place: "Sarah's Poem," Chelsea-Sarah Evans, Las Lomas High, ninth grade
Third place:  "A Beautiful Place," Angie Allen, Las Lomas High, 12th grade