On April 2nd, Silver High Assembly Awards were held. As part of the program, Young Voices of Silver City, 2014, the 2nd book in a series to encourage and support young scholars in their pursuit of literacy was presented to the winners of the Literacy Alive sponsored contest.
During the summer of 2013 more than one hundred copies of Voices of New Mexico, Too were distributed through the Honors English classes of Silver High in Silver City, New Mexico.
Students were asked to read the anthology and let it inspire them to make their voices hear through poetry, personal and historical essays and artistic renders. One hundred-thirty young people responded. The best submissions were selected for cash awards and publication in Young Voices of Silver City, 2014.
For this year's program, an impressive group of judges lent their experience to the selection of entries for publication and award recognition. Prose category judges included Cathy Gojkovich, Carol Vaughan and Jeremy James (JJ ) Wilson, Writer-in-residence at Western New Mexico University; poetry submissions were selected by Mary Ihlefeld, Linda Lowrance and Bonnie Maldonado, Poet Laureate of Silver City; and art work was reviewed by three local Silver City artists: Deborah Hutchings, Gay Marks and Grethe Siebert.
Prose Category
The final judge in this category, Jeremy James had this to say about the entries. "The standard of entries in 2013 was exceptionally high. Not only did the young writers reveal their strong grasp of the mechanics of prose writing - use of appropriate structure, punctuation, spelling and tone; they also told wonderful stories using well-chosen imagery and memorable characters and situations. My congratulations go out to all who participated."
and these words for the three top winners in the prose category:
- "Tanah Lowe's third-place entry, entitled "Teammates", intersperses everyday language with the rich, poetic vocabulary related to horses and horseback-riding. The writing comes alive at the descriptions of the chosen horse, and the author manages to convey the joy of nature and humankind interacting. This is an excellent piece of writing."
- "In second place comes Dianne Rothpletz's "The Man I Called Grandpa." With one humorous anecdote, the author captures the old man's character, and then the piece deepens with the description of the man's achievements. Beautifully written, this essay goes from the personal to the universal, finding a moral in how the main character became successful despite his limited education."
- "The third-place award went to Jacob Martin for "Navigation." This piece sets the scene gently before describing a devastating anecdote that changed the life of the main character. Writing in fluid, no-nonsense words, this piece vividly evokes a work long gone and quietly paints a truly and painfully unforgettable scene."
Poetry Category
Dr. Bonnie Buckley Maldonado, Poet Laureate of Silver City, and final judge in the poetry category had this to say about the entries: "From the compelling, First place winner, "Listen to the Voices", by Alyssa Shanley-Lente, the Second place winner, Rikki Herendez, "New Mexico" and Third Place winner, John Hardy, "A Home for One and All". "The words from these young writers spin vivid images of New Mexico, scenes from home recalled by a young soldier serving in Iraq, and the magic inherent in an ordinary day of a young boy. These young writers have grasped some primary rules of good writing. They write of what they know best, and they write objectively, avoiding sentimentality. Kudos to them, to their teachers and to Literacy Alive, the program that showcased their work."
Art Category
Art judges praised First place winner Mikayla Pena for the complexity of her drawing titled "Double Doll" Her detail was admirable in the foreground, middle ground and background portions of her art. Second place winner, Catherine Lucero, so aptly depicted the New Mexico landscape with the coming rains that her piece "Monsoon Season" was selected for the cover of the book, Young Voices of Silver City 2014. And, Third place winner, Selena Richardson, was recognized for the ethereal mood conveyed through painting, "The Girl Who Paints in Moonlight."