(Photo by Tom Randolph)
As the state's Poet Laureate, I've been asked to judge quite a few contests, which I enjoy doing, despite the difficulty of settling on winners and rankings. My favorite contest this year has been the one for K-8th Graders in Jefferson County, celebrating Mount Jefferson, the centerpiece of Mount Jefferson State Park. Ranger Tom Randolph invited me to be a part of this project last fall, and I gladly accepted. Expressing our connection to the places we love is one of the most important things we can do, and if we are poets, being able to sing our love is doubly important. Poetry opens the gate into these places, and in doing so, makes us aware of how important they are in our lives. We will be more likely to preserve and protect these places because of what these words have said to us.
These young poets give us the words with which to celebrate Mount Jefferson and the landscape in which it stands. Tom Randolph, the staff at Mt. Jefferson State Park, and the teachers and parents who encouraged the many young students to write poems about their love of Mount Jefferson deserve our thanks. I'd like to suggest that such a project become inspiration for other groups around the state. And a special thanks to Tom Randolph for the spectacular photographs of Mount Jefferson!
Here is Ranger Tom's description of the day when prizes were awarded.
It was a wonderful afternoon for the poets and their families. All three poets read their poems under a clear blue sky up on Mt. Jefferson State Park 4600 above sea level. The poets received their certificates and prizes beneath a green canopy and the bright warm sun. The friends of state parks had sponsored the prizes: a tent, sleeping bag, and a back pack, and we have a commitment of 4 more years of sponsorship. We look forward to expanding the contest in the coming years.
The poetry contest has been ongoing now for 3 years. It was started in 2006 as part of the celebration of Mt. Jefferson's 50th anniversary. Local people years ago were so inspired by this mountain that donated land and money in order to establish a this State Park back in 1956. Today our young poets are still inspired by this mountain and its stories. To date we have received over 1000 poems from students since 2006. Now we are looking forward to our fall poetry contest for students k-6th grade. I personally would like to thank our NC
poet laureate Kathryn Byer for judging our top ten poems from the middle school poets.
An article from the Jefferson County newspaper follows the poems. Let me say that judging these 60 poems was not at all "tedious." It was a pleasure!
MT. JEFFERSON
Take a deep breath.
Taste the fresh air.
Sit down in the forest
Let the breeze whip through your hair.
Watch the golden sun
Dip below the mountain
Dip below the mountain
Across the silver-crested hills.
The birds twitter a final tune.
The park is going to close quite soon
It is hard to feel left alone
Resting in the light of the moon.
To keep the clock from moving,
To refrain from ever going,Just the sound of near-silent breathing
Reminding you that you're still hearing
Alas! The town's lights begin to flicker on:
Wal-Mart, then McDonald's,
Until the little city is aglow,
Like a star in a faraway universe.
You close your eyes,
Take one last breath of the summer air,
And climb in your car,
Wishing you could take this with you.
Remind yourself that you will visit tomorrow
Explore another path.
Let your mind escape you,
Let it escape the Devil's wrath.
As you drive down the road,
Smiling to yourself,
You turn around for one final look.
The sun now rests on the mountain.
The car reminds you to move on,
Its engine roaring in the warmth.
And you promise yourself that through life,
Though you're gone
You will never forget Mount Jefferson.
By CK
The night is still, quiet, peaceful
A gentle breeze blows throughthe trees and echoes through
the hollow cliff
where I stay
I I could sleep, I would
but I never sleep very much
I am unable
to escape, escape the night
the night they came
the night they came for me
the night the wind howled
but all I could hear was footsteps
footsteps pounding
all I could see was the light
the light from their lanterns
what I could feel
was my heart pounding,
pounding inside my chest
they pass by me
I will stay here as long
as I have to,
I will stay on this mountain
which will later be called Mount Jefferson.
By C.P.
MT. JEFFERSON
Its peak floating above the cloud,
its creatures hiding on the trail,
its autumn leaves shown proud,
its every tree has a tale.
Whether it is in a summer fog or a winter shroud,
through its path I love to soar and sail.
It will always draw a crowd.
Mt. Jefferson is loved down to its smallest snail.
by S. P.
-----------------------------------------------
From The Jefferson Post, by Jesse Campbell:
Three budding poets from Ashe County Middle School were honored Monday evening as finalists in the 2009 Mt. Jefferson Poetry Contest at the picnic shelter of Mt. Jefferson State Park.
Sydney Powell took home third place for her composition which focused on the mountain’s natural environment during seasonal changes. Calli Phipps was the contest’s runner up with her selection which put the reader in the shoes of a runaway slave and Carter Kurtz captured first place for her poem on experiencing a Mt. Jefferson sunset.
In the moments leading up to the presentation, Park Ranger Tom Randolph explained that the goal of the contest was to encourage students to compose poems that reflect on how Mt. Jefferson can serve as a means of inspiration to not only them as writers but to townspeople who donated both land and money to obtain a state park designation for the mountain.
“The park was built on the inspiration of people in Ashe County and you guys are the next generation to carry on that,” Randolph said.
The contest encourages students to think and express ideas about their local community and the natural resources they are stewards of, a press release stated. Each finalist noted that they were inspired to write the poems from the natural scenery and wildlife they observed while visiting the park. “There was just one time when I came up here with my friends that I was sitting on one of the edges of the mountain when I saw the sunlight lighting up everything around me and it was just so nice to see,” Kurtz said.
Other students, Randolph explained, used the park’s connection to the Underground Railroad and the point of view of a runaway slave as inspiration for their creativity.
Phipps stated that she has “always been a constant visitor of Mt. Jefferson” and frequented the mountainous peak with her brother. She also explained that she attempted to gain “insight” on the life of the runaway slave who are believed to have used the mountain’s remote caves as a safe harbor from malevolent bounty hunters. Randolph went on to explain that the poetry contest was created in honor of the park’s 50th anniversary in 2006. The contest is now in its third year and is sponsored by the Friends of North Carolina State Parks. Randolph presented the trio of wordsmiths with certificates of accomplishment along with words of encouragement from North Carolina State Poet Laureate Kathryn Byer.
A poet laureate is a poet who is officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events, Randolph explained. Byer was appointed the top literary position by Gov. Michael Easley in 2005.
Although Byer was unable to attend Monday’s special recognition, she attached words of inspiration to the three finalists’ entries to encourage the rhymesters to continue in their writing endeavors. The three finalists’ literary creations were chosen out of 60 poems that were entered into the contest. Their poems were also three of 10 finalists, Randolph said. Byer was ultimately responsible for the tedious task of choosing the ten finalists for the prestigious recognition.
Since the poem’s conception, over a thousand students have participated in the contest that includes students from kindergarten on up to the eighth grade from all county elementary schools and ACMS.
Sydney Powell took home third place for her composition which focused on the mountain’s natural environment during seasonal changes. Calli Phipps was the contest’s runner up with her selection which put the reader in the shoes of a runaway slave and Carter Kurtz captured first place for her poem on experiencing a Mt. Jefferson sunset.
In the moments leading up to the presentation, Park Ranger Tom Randolph explained that the goal of the contest was to encourage students to compose poems that reflect on how Mt. Jefferson can serve as a means of inspiration to not only them as writers but to townspeople who donated both land and money to obtain a state park designation for the mountain.
“The park was built on the inspiration of people in Ashe County and you guys are the next generation to carry on that,” Randolph said.
The contest encourages students to think and express ideas about their local community and the natural resources they are stewards of, a press release stated. Each finalist noted that they were inspired to write the poems from the natural scenery and wildlife they observed while visiting the park. “There was just one time when I came up here with my friends that I was sitting on one of the edges of the mountain when I saw the sunlight lighting up everything around me and it was just so nice to see,” Kurtz said.
Other students, Randolph explained, used the park’s connection to the Underground Railroad and the point of view of a runaway slave as inspiration for their creativity.
Phipps stated that she has “always been a constant visitor of Mt. Jefferson” and frequented the mountainous peak with her brother. She also explained that she attempted to gain “insight” on the life of the runaway slave who are believed to have used the mountain’s remote caves as a safe harbor from malevolent bounty hunters. Randolph went on to explain that the poetry contest was created in honor of the park’s 50th anniversary in 2006. The contest is now in its third year and is sponsored by the Friends of North Carolina State Parks. Randolph presented the trio of wordsmiths with certificates of accomplishment along with words of encouragement from North Carolina State Poet Laureate Kathryn Byer.
A poet laureate is a poet who is officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events, Randolph explained. Byer was appointed the top literary position by Gov. Michael Easley in 2005.
Although Byer was unable to attend Monday’s special recognition, she attached words of inspiration to the three finalists’ entries to encourage the rhymesters to continue in their writing endeavors. The three finalists’ literary creations were chosen out of 60 poems that were entered into the contest. Their poems were also three of 10 finalists, Randolph said. Byer was ultimately responsible for the tedious task of choosing the ten finalists for the prestigious recognition.
Since the poem’s conception, over a thousand students have participated in the contest that includes students from kindergarten on up to the eighth grade from all county elementary schools and ACMS.
No comments:
Post a Comment