Montclair Student Poetry Slam Succeeds At Mt. Hebron School

Montclair, NJ – Poetry is an excellent way to share what’s in the minds and hearts of Montclair’s students.

That’s the takeaway that Mount Hebron Middle School’s budding wordsmiths learned during the school’s first poetry slam on April 19.

During the event – titled “Every Story Matters” – 58 student poets took to the stage to read personal works, according to a district news release.

A panel of three Montclair residents acted as judges for the competition:

• Joanne LaMarca Mathisen, Emmy-award winning senior producer of NBC News’ Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb
• Roger Sedarat, author of three poetry collections and teacher of poetry and literary translation in the MFA Program at Queens College, City University of New York
• Susan Sonneborn, a veteran educator who specializes in developing and teaching interdisciplinary, art-integrated curriculum and writing teacher at the Montclair Art Museum's Yard School of Art

The judges selected 16 students as the slam winners; the selected poets will showcase their lyrics at the Montclair Art Museum's Free First Thursday celebration on June 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Lehman Court.

The event was made possible by support from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE), Mount Hebron Parent & Teacher Association (PTA) and the Mount Hebron School Action Team for Partnership (SATp).

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Photo: Montclair Public School District