First-annual Pioneer Literary Arts Awards honor student writers

 

The first-ever Literary Arts Awards at Pioneer High School dished out prizes for poetry, fiction, journalism, essay and satire on Friday, April 27.

English classes filled the school’s Little Theater with hoots and hollers as the winners were announced.

English teacher Don Packard said the awards ceremony does more than encourage students to enter the contest. “It encourages them to make their writing public,” he said, and even to consider writing as a career path.

The students were encouraged to submit class assignments.

First, second and third place winners were awarded $100, $50 and $25, respectively. The monetary prizes came from the Ann Arbor Pioneer High School Endowment Fund for Excellence, Academics and Athletics, said Jeff Kass. The fund was created in 2002 with gifts from the Pioneer Class of 1962, 1964 and 1966.

“This is the first time we’ve done this,” said Ray Pitman, a representative of the Class of 1962. “We like that so many teachers and students are involved.”

The students were also treated to a reading by Lewis Robinson. He read an essay about his experiences as John Irving’s personal assistant.

Student winners are listed below:

School-wide Categories

Satire: Mark Malakh

Honorable Mention: Iris Chen, Jennifer Johnson, Fei-fei Wu, Hannah Dubov

Journalism: Sabra Satz-Kojis

Ninth and Tenth Grade Categories

Poetry: 1^st place – Dana Shin; 2^nd place – Luke Erdevig; 3^rd place – Ezra Chung.

Personal or narrative essay: Lisa Qian – 1^st place; Charlotte Rivard – 2^nd place

Literary Analysis or Academic essay: Caroline Hurd – 1^st place; Costa Willets – 2^nd place; Lisa Qian – 3^rd place.

Fiction, play or screenplay: Dana Shin – 1^st place; Sylvie Epstein – 2^nd place; Andromeda Veach – 3^rd place.

Eleventh and Twelfth Grade Categories

Poetry: Hannah Bates – 1^st Place; Kristy Abraham – 2^nd place; Robyn Green and Connor Carrick – 3^rd place; Aaron Noffke – Honorable Mention.

Personal or narrative essay: Josh Kaplan – 1^st place; Caleb Stevens – 2^nd place; Iris Chen – 3^rd place; Jera Hogan – Honorable Mention.

Literary Analysis or Academic essay: Jackson Tucker-Meyer – 1^st place; Norah Rast – 2^nd place; Allison Brooks-Conrad – 3^rd place; Josh Kaplan – Honorable Mention.

Fiction, play or screenplay: Samuel Covin St. Cyr – 1^st place; Lauren Zyber – 2^nd place; Clare Higgins – 3^rd place.