Gordon Parks Center announces high school poetry/essay contest winners

Submitted to The Tribune

The Gordon Parks Museum/Center has announced the winners for the annual Gordon Parks High School Poetry/Essay contest.

The contest, sponsored by the Bourbon County Arts Council, invited entries from students who were currently in the ninth -- 12th grades in a Fort Scott Community College regional area school.

The contest had 49 submissions from high schools in Nevada, Girard, and Fort Scott High School. The eight students recognized received a certificate, poster, and a copy of Gordon Parks' novel The Learning Tree at a luncheon on Friday, Oct. 7, hosted by FSCC Dean of Instruction Donna Estill.

The students who were recognized this year include: Terrin Baker, Nevada High School, for her essay; John Hey, Girard High School, for his poem; and Matthew Higgins, Sam Kendrick, Kolby Harris, Keira Lamb, Karley Stark, and Samantha Tucker, all of Fort Scott High School, for their poems.

The purpose of the contest is to nurture young talent to develop their writing skills, according to Estill.

"Gordon Parks was an accomplished photographer and filmmaker, but he was also a creative writer and poet. We are so glad to encourage young people to follow in his footsteps and exercise their creative talents," she said in a news release.

The contest this year focused on taking the first stanza from one of Parks' poems, "No Apologies," and developing it into their own poem or essay.

The students' work was judged by a panel of FSCC staff members including Maria Bahr, Mary Irish and Jill Warford, along with Estill.