By Marie Saba and Amy Shen

Staff Writers

Aspiring poet? Or just a regular Jamesville-DeWitt High School student? Either can enter the Annual Poetry Contest held at J-DHS.

The Annual Poetry Contest is “an outlet for creativity,” said J-DHS Librarian Mary Panek. This year, students entering the contest will choose a photo from a selection of student photography from photo teacher Lisa Troubetaris’s photo class to base their poem(s) off of. Sophomore Alex Frank was one of the select photographers whose work was featured. “I was proud because I didn’t think that picture would go anywhere,” said Frank.

From April 20 to May 20, students can go on http://poetrycontest.wix.com/jdhspoetrycontest to  select one of 14 photos to write their poem about. Once written, participant can click the submit button, and then follow the step by step process displayed to submit their work. The poems are required to be six lines long and inspired by one of the provided photos. By entering, students have a chance to win a $10 gift card from iTunes, Starbucks, or Barnes and Noble. On the submission form, students can mark their gift card of choice if they happen to win. After all the poems are in, the winning poems are chosen by random.

This Annual Poetry Contest was made possible by seniors Abbie Guisbond and Lilli Proe. Proe enjoyed spending time working in the library and wanted more NHS service hours. Guisbond wanted to fulfill the requirement of volunteer hours for her government class by working in the library. Guisbond hopes the possible success of this year’s Annual Poetry Contest will inspire newcomers to “take up the responsibility” for next year. Good luck and happy National Poetry Month!