Poetry winners announced

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Massillon Public Library announced the winners of its 2019 Writing Contest. In all, 39 writers entered 47 original poems and 31 original flash fiction stories of 1,000 words or less.

In the adult category Robert Gilbert won with his flash fiction, “Sleeping Bag for Sissies,” and Emma Keefer with her poem, “Heart Maker.” From the poems submitted by those grade 9-12, the winner was Noah Fox for “Golden Lights.”

In the grade 3-8 category, the winners were Molly Marceric for her poem, “Sunset,” and Belle Fockler for her flash fiction, “Burn.”

“Picking a winner is always challenging,” said contest judge Duane Dodson, local published poet and full-time assistant professor at Stark State College of Technology. “I wanted to give every entrant a hug or a handshake because it was clear that their poems were from the heart. Writing poetry can be very therapeutic and cathartic.”

The winner from each of these categories was awarded a $50 gift card to Books-A-Million, donated by the Junior Friends of the Massillon Public Library.

The Massillon Public Library is located at 208 Lincoln Way E. For information on upcoming programs, items available for check-out and other services available to library patrons, log on to the Massillon Public Library website at www.massillonlibrary.org or call the library at 330-832-9831.