Westover student
awarded top poetry prize
in writing contest
MIDDLEBURY — A student at Westover School was awarded the top statewide prize in poetry Sunday night at the 12th annual IMPAC-Connecticut State University System Young Writers competition.
Felicity Sheehy, 16, won for her poem, "Evening Conversation." She received $1,000 for her efforts at the annual awards celebration at the Mark Twain House &Museum in Hartford.
She also was awarded $500 in April after being named prose and poetry winner in New Haven County.
Sheehy's work will be considered for publication in Connecticut Review, the nationally-renowned literary journal published by the Connecticut State University System.
Among the other students honored Sunday were Kevin Redmond, 17, of Torrington High School for his poem, "The Cold Stare Of Infinity." Also, Clarissa Burch, 15, of New Milford High School was honored for her story, "Missing You."
The awards celebration featured keynote speakers Melanie Lieberman, the 2007 state prose champion and a Rockville High School senior; and her teacher, Victoria Nordlund, chairwoman of the English department and a longtime nurturer of young poets and writers.
Co-masters of ceremonies were Rand Richards Cooper, the novelist and travel writer for Bon Appétit; Diane Smith, Connecticut Public Television host and author; Colin McEnroe, the Hartford Courant columnist and author; and Ravi Shankar, professor and poet-in-residence at Central Connecticut State University. They all served as judges for the program.
The 16 county state finalists were treated to tours of the Twain House &Museum, a program on Twain and a workshop by Lieberman and Nordlund. Performance poet and slam coach Elizabeth Thomas, the Connecticut Review Poet in Residence for the Naugatuck public schools, led a workshop for teachers on how to teach performance poetry.
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