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Poetry Contest

The Newbury Library and the John Hay Literary Society

ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST in CELEBRATION OF POETRY MONTH

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"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds every hour, a picture which was never seen before. and which shall never be seen again."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

2025 Spring Poetry Contest Winners

2025 Contest Winners:

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Jennifer Edwards, David Counts, R. Russell, Thom Smith, Victoria Herness, and Ayla Gill 

IWA 2025 Adult Winner Jennifer Edwards.JPEG

Pictured: Adult First Place Winner, Jennifer Edwards

Winning Entries

Check out the winning entries below!

River_edited.jpg

Informally Interviewing the Merrimack River Over the Course of Months (2025)

Jennifer Edwards

Image by Mak

Four Ages in New Hampshire (2025)

David Counts

Winter Snow

Windbound:
Bullet Pond (2025)

R.H. Russell

Tree Lined Park
tapping (2025)

Thom Smith

2024 Spring Poetry Contest Winners

2024 Spring Poetry Contest

Pictured from left to right: Lea McBain, Dianalee Velie, Autumn Simoneaux, and Carl Beverly.

2024 Contest Winners:

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Allison Cummings, Padraig Scallon, Skyler Cook,

Penny Morhardt, Monika Cooper, Christopher L. Dormin, and Sara Backer.

2023 Spring Poetry Contest Winners

2023 Contest Winners:

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Dianalee Velie, Cynthia Knorr, Pat Tivnan, Brenna Manuel and Miriam Talcott

2023 Poetry

Pictured from left to right:  Dianalee Velie, Contest Coordinator, Autumn Simoneau, Sign Language Interpreter, Brenna Manuel, Melanie Chicoine (Contest Judge), Cynthia Knorr, Miriam Talcott and Pat Tivnan.

2022 Spring Poetry Contest Winners

Screenshot 2025-05-06 at 1.17_edited.jpg

Pictured: Interpreter Reed Cotton with Ryan Twomey, Carol Lake and Kay Morgan

Missing from photo: Hannah Rubin

2022 Contest Winners:

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Ryan Twomey, Carol Lake, Kay Morgan, and Hannah Rubin

2019 Spring Poetry Contest Winners

2019 Contest Winners:

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Autumn Siders, Mary Anker,  Gabriel Smith, Lotus Gregory, Tobin Smith, and Katherine Leigh

2019 Poetry_edited.jpg

Pictured: Ala Khaki (Contest Judge), Autumn Siders, Mary Anker, Gabriel Smith, Lotus Gregory, Tobin Smith, and Katherine Leigh

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