Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and you. That’s right, your name can fall amidst those of the greatest poets of all time. That is…if you submit poetry to the first annual poetry contest being hosted by the library.

Assistant librarian Maricar Laudato was inspired to organize the contest in order to offer students an outlet through which to express their creativity while earning a chance to win some awesome prizes.

“The first thing that inspired me [to create this contest] was the Fifth Annual SMCHS Art Show,” Laudato said. “I was inspired by the pride that students get by showing off their work and that gave me the idea for the contest. The second thing that inspired me was when Mr. Fleming’s English class was in the library working on poetry and I read a student’s poem that had a bit of profanity in it which actually made it really hilarious…students are able to show their personalities through creative writing and especially poetry.”

If you don’t consider yourself to be in possession of some mad poetry skills, think again. You’re probably a poet and you doesn’t even know it yet. And even if you’re not, you can still submit work to the contest. The guidelines are minimal and the rules loose.

“There are two poetry contests,” Laudato said. “One is the freestyle poetry contest which you can submit up to three poems. You can also submit blackout poetry in which you black out certain words in an article or story and keep select words to make a poem.”

In order to submit freestyle poetry, students must first self-enroll in the Learning Portal class called Poetry Contest before uploading their work. No password is required. Blackout poetry must be submitted in-person to the librarians.

The contest is not intended to be like an assignment in English class. In fact, Laudato and library clerk Ashleigh Hvinden, who will be assisting Laudato in judging the contest, are not looking to critique style or structure, but instead to evaluate whether or not the poems tug at their heart strings.

“As students submit, we are choosing the ones that excite some type of emotion in us,” Laudato said. “We aren’t looking for the boring stuff that teachers are looking for. We don’t want to inhibit a student’s creativity and we want to give them whatever freedom they need to create their work. What we’re looking for is if they leave an impression by making us feel something. That’s the main criteria for winning the contest.”

Although there are really no rules as far as topic and structure go, students who choose to submit work are required to adhere to the parent-student handbook guidelines and the Christian code of conduct. Also, Laudato asks that the freestyle poem must be minimum 12-point font.

“There’s no topic they have to adhere to which gives students a general sense of freedom to express themselves,” Laudato said.

Contest prizes include a pair of Prom tickets and a $100 gift card with Spring Dance tickets. In addition, the first 50 people to enter the contest will be invited to a complimentary thank you breakfast on March 10 during the late start. The breakfast will be hosted in the library itself…one of the rare times you will be able to eat in the library without getting a detention.

Laudato has been visiting some English classes announcing details about the contest and perhaps you’ve seen her hanging up advertisement posters in the library. She is happy to answer any further questions about specifics of the contest. The contest ends Friday, Feb. 27 so get your entries in ASAP. Blackout poetry must be submitted by 4 p.m. while freestyle poetry must be submitted by midnight on the Learning Portal.

Take a break from that English essay and free your mind by writing a bit of poetry. And maybe one day, you’ll find your name in the history books alongside the greats.