As we usher in National Poetry Month, we celebrate the 17 GDS poets who reached the semi-finals of the Parkmont Poetry Contest in the annual festival that brings hundreds of submissions from Middle School and High School writers in the DC area. We invite you to read the semi-finalists’ poems linked below before reading the announcement of the eight GDS winners at the end of this article.
We have only linked poems approved for a public audience.
Middle School
- Lomahn ’26 for “The Snake”
- Noa ’26 for "Dreaming"
- Zoe ’26 for "A Simple Gesture of Love"
- Clio ’25 for "Skin" and "Butterfly"
- Jaya ’25 for "Rain"
- Grace ’25 for “Grace: ‘A Blessing’"
- Callie ’25 for "On the Beach"
- Isabel ’25 for "The Crusader's Song" and "Goddesses"
- Laila ’25 for “Trains”
- Sloane ’25 for "Blast Off"
- Naomi ’25 for "A Light in the Dark"
High School
- Hana Sakr ’24 for "The Looking Glass"
- Kaiden Yu ’23 for "Winter War Washington / Red on the Marble Steps"
- Julius Boxer-Cooper ’22 for "The Gusts, The World, And Me"
- Anna Shesol ’24 for "Candles"
- Leila Jackson ’22 for "Reverse Lockdown" and for "Pink Sundress"
- Susan Lin ’23 for "Rainbow Trouts" and for "Dawn"
From among the 90 semi-finalists, 20 High School winners and 20 Middle School winners were selected from DC public, private, and charter schools submissions. “Our finalist judge found the winning poems to be distinguished and vibrant voices that represent the heart and diversity of young DC writers,” wrote Poetry Festival Coordinator Kim Schraf.
Middle School Winners
- Naomi ’25 for "A Light in the Dark"
- Laila ’25 for “Trains”
- Sloane ’25 for "Blast Off"
- Isabel ’25 for "Goddesses"
- Callie ’25 for "On the Beach"
High School Winners
- Anna Shesol ’24 for "Candles"
- Leila Jackson ’22 for "Pink Sundress"
- Susan Lin ’23 for "Dawn"