Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) is pleased to announce the winners of our 2023-2024 student contests.

About the Contest

The contest divisions were as follows:

High School Division (Grades 9-12) Free Verse Poem
​Middle School Division (Grades 6-8) Free Verse Poem
Elementary Division (Grades 2-5) Any Poem Form

The competition was open all Tennessee students in grades 2-12 (public, private, and home school students and to PST student members from any state. Student submitted a single poem for consideration.

Contest awards for each division are as follows:  1st place $25, 2nd $20, 3rd $15, 4th $10, and 5th $5. In addition, top winning poems will be published in a forthcoming edition of PST’s anthology, Tennessee Voices.

High School Division Results

Prizes

1st Place: Miriam Manna for “Court House on a Thursday Afternoon”
West Ridge High School, Blountville TN, student of Mr Seth Grindstaff

2nd Place: Aimee Segoviano for “Benedictions" 
East High School, Memphis TN, student of Ms Maria Scudder Walters

3rd Place: Kaiowa Hatfield for “Fire Isn’t a Thing, It’s Just a Circumstance of Temperature”
West Ridge High School, Blountville TN, student of Mr. Seth Grindstaff

4th Place: Lillian Bates for “February”
West Ridge High School,  Blountville TN, student of Mr. Seth Grindstaff

5th Place: Piper Keene for “Peace and the Absence of Chaos”
Daniel Boone High School, Johnson City TN, student of Ms. Karin Orchard

No honorable mentions were selected for this division.

Middle School Division Results

Prizes

1st Place: Kaydence Davis for "Your Melody" 
White Station Middle School, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Karla Varriano

2nd Place: John Nguyen for "Fork in the Road" 
White Station Middle, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Karla Varriano

3rd Place: Erin Goggans for "Spider Lilies" 
White Station Middle School, student of Mrs. Karla Varriano

4th Place: Draven Baggett for "Nature's Rest" 
Colonial Middle School, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Amber Smith

5th Place: Adaira Davis for "Focus" 
William James Middle School, White Bluff TN, student of Ms. Samantha England

Honorable Mentions

Mycah Arnold for "Fleeting" 
White Station Middle School, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Karla Varriano

Elizabeth DeBlasis for "Somewhere over the Rainbow" 
Holy Trinity Montessori, Nashville TN, student of Ms. Margaret Sauers

Vincent Cubberley for "Summer Day" 
Lenoir City Christian Academy, Lenoir City TN, student of Ms. Terri Walden

Braylon Robinson for "Ode to Nature" 
Colonial Middle School, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Amber Smith

Yixuan Chen for "Dreaming" 
White Station Middle School, Memphis TN, student of Mrs. Karla Varriano

Elementary Division Results

Prizes

1st Place: Luke Pyron for “The Geyser” 
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

2nd Place: Martha Manire for “The Little Brown Snake” 
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

3rd Place: Vivian Sweeney for “Pink” 
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

4th Place: Finn Grindstaff for “Apples” 
Providence Academy, Johnson City TN, student of Mrs. Singleton

5th Place: Marcus Hardin for “The Puppy” 
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Honorable Mentions

Samuel Bolton for “The Koala” 
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Lola Loveless for “Me”
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Evelyn Johnson for “Blue Sky”
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Wren Carmona for “Draw”
Holy Trinity Montessori, Nashville TN, student of Mrs. Margaret Sauers

Hayes Ledbetter for “The Flood”
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Garrett Thomley for “The Attack on Omaha”
Columbia Academy, Columbia TN, student of Mrs. Kathryn Phillips

Ivy Janovitz for “Callen” 
Holy Trinity Montessori, Nashville TN, student of Mrs. Margaret Sauers

About Our Judges

Many thanks to the judges for their review of entries and selection of contest winners. Scott Honeycutt served as judge for the High School Division, Jeff Price served as judge for the Middle School Division and Micah McCrotty served as judge for the Elementary Division.

Scott Honeycutt is currently an assistant professor of English at East Tennessee State University. His first chapbook, This Diet of Flesh, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2016. When he is not teaching, Scott enjoys walking the hills of Appalachia and spending time with his family.

Jeff Price is an English teacher at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee. He just completed thirty-eight years coaching wrestling on the high school, college, and middle school levels. His career earned him a spot in the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He currently resides in Johnson City with his wife Julie, as well as a trio of cats—Merlyn, Mister, and Cleo, and his boon companion, Dewman “Buddy” Doggs, the rescue dog who rescued him. His first poetry collection, One Steady Glance, was published by Red Hawk Publications in 2023.

Micah Daniel McCrotty lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife Katherine. His poetry has previously appeared in Louisiana Literature, Storm Cellar, Still: The Journal, Sycamore Review, and the James Dickey Review among others, including Appalachian Places, a digital magazine published by the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University.

PST Student Membership

Know a high school student interested in poetry? Give the gift of membership in Poetry Society of Tennessee! At just $10 a year, it’s an incredible value.Students may attend educational programs and participate in critique groups and monthly members-onlycontests. Get membership information.