Cobb Poetry Contest Winners to Meet Poet Laureate

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The 19th Poet Laureate of the United States will meet several Cobb County youngsters who won a poetry contest put on by the Cobb Library Foundation.

Natasha Trethewey is scheduled to speak at the foundation’s Booked at Six event, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 6 at The Georgian Club at 100 S Galleria Pkwy. in the Cumberland Mall area. Sen. Johnny Isakson will be on hand to introduce the poet, who will then hand out prizes to winners of the Cobb Library Foundation’s 2014 Mary Ellen Wright Memorial Poetry Contest.

The contest featured two age categories, one for students about to enter grades three through six, and a category for students about to enter grades seven through 12. Poems were judged on their originality, flavor, and word choice, flow, content, and proper grammar.

The Marietta Daily Journal reports that the winner of the grades three through six group was eleven-year-old Joseph Fisher of Dickerson Middle School in East Cobb. The winner of the grades seven through twelve group was 17-year-old Neba Evans of Smyrna’s Osborne High School.

Each winner will receive $100, an engraved plaque, and their poem will be published in the Marietta Daily Journal. Runners up in each category will win $25. The winners and runners up are receiving their prizes from Trethewey during the Booked at Six event.

Booked at Six Event brings library patrons and reading enthusiasts face to face with their favorite authors, and is one of the Cobb Library Foundation’s most popular fundraisers throughout the year. Tickets for the event cost $50. All proceeds for the event benefit the Cobb County Library system.