Expanded My Vernon CT Poetry Contest Announced

VERNON, CT — An expanded version of a traditional town-wide poetry contest is coming to Vernon.

The My Vernon CT poetry contest welcomes entries from Vernon students and adults.

The program is intended to highlight "what makes Vernon special," and to "inspire writers to focus on an element of Vernon and what it means to them."

Poems must be original. Writing with assistance of "artificial intelligence" is not permitted, organizers said.

"Vernon is a town of beauty and character that should provide writers with plenty of inspiration," Mayor Dan Champagne said. "Fox Hill Tower and Henry Park have always been important to me – from my days as a child on Village Street in Rockville, when I was older and would run to the tower every day as I prepared for Army basic training, and as a police officer patrolling Vernon. There are so many other places people can find special — our trails, Valley Falls, Vernon’s history, restaurants and other places."

There are four divisions for entries: students in grades 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, as well as adults.

Michelle Hill, Vernon’s youth services director, urged people of all ages to participate.

"Writing is great for your mind," Hill said. "It forces you to think, to revise and consider the relationships between words. Best of all, the end product is a piece of art created by you. We hope many people join us in thinking and writing about Vernon."

Requirements include:

• Entries must be 25 lines or less and typed single-spaced.
• Poems must focus on one place or aspect of Vernon.
• Writers can choose whether to rhyme or not rhyme.
• Poems must be unpublished.
• Each writer can submit up to two poems.
• Manuscripts must have the writer’s name, grade this school year or age, address and contact information.
• The deadline is May 15.
• Prizes will go to the top selected entries.

"In the past, My Vernon CT was primarily for children," said Pegi Deitz Shea, a local writer who was Vernon's first poet laureate. "Now we'd like adults to join in and write about what makes Vernon special to them."

Poems can be submitted to: vernonpoems@vernon-ct.gov.

The program is sponsored by the Town of Vernon as part of its Sustainable CT program. The goal is to "use art to inspire Vernon’s young people and to build a sense of community."