Westport Students Soar to Win in Poetry Contest

WESTPORT, Conn. – Grace McGinley and Polina Zhuravleva, seventh-graders at Coleytown Middle School in Westport, were named award winners in the Westport Public Library’s "Flight of Imagination" poetry contest.

Grace won first place for her poem “Wings,” and Polina was awarded third place for her poem, “The Dream’s Flight.” The contest was part of the of library’s annual WestportREADS program, a community reading program focused on the novel "I Was Amelia Earhart" by Jane Mendelsohn.

“Although the poems were written in very different styles, Grace's being more traditional and Polina's a modern free verse, they were both able to convey feelings of joy and freedom that we associate with the concept of flight,” said the girls’ teacher, Paul Ferrante.

The girls’ poems will be published on the library website, and each girl will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card.

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