2021 RIVER OF WORDS WINNERS & FINALISTS

March 10, 2020

2021 Category I Winners

Poetry: Brooklyn Long, age 8, Georgia, United States
Art: Angelo Chan Po Chi, age 7, Hong Kong, China

2021 Category II Winners

Poetry: Austin Lu, age 10, Ontario, Canada
Art: Ivy Mo age, 10, New York, United States

2021 Category III Winners

Poetry: Owen Ni, age 13, Washington, United States
Art: Yiming Mao, age 11, New York, United States

2021 Category IV Winners

Poetry: Indigo Mudbhary, age 17, California, United States
Poetry: Zoe Mello Zdraveski, age 16, Massachusetts, United States
Art: Seo Jin Moon, age 17, New York, United States

International Prize Winner

Poetry: Myungjae Han, age 16, Hong Kong, China

Monkey’s Raincoat Prize (Honoring a short poem in the haiku tradition)
Sigourney Hanh King, age 11, Ontario, Canada

One Square Block Prize (Honoring a poem that examines city-scapes and the interactions between the manmade and natural world)

Sarah Zhang, age 16, New York, United States

Shasta Bioregion Prize (Honoring an artist or poetry from a Northern Watershed)

Avah Dodson, age 12, California United States

On Writing (Honoring a poem about writing)

Christopher Rivas, age 16, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

 

2021 Art Finalists

Ava Allison, age 7, Utah, United States

Meepian Roopkaew, age 6, Thailand

Minseok Lee, age 10, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Marley Bernstein, age 1, Massachusetts, United States

Anika Roy, age 16, Michigan, United States

Rey Campos, age 18, Arizona, United States

Hafsa Firdaus, age 8, Pleasanton, California, United States

Bethel Eyasu, age 7, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Dario Espinoza, age 7, Irvine, California, United States

Aniyah Dunn, age 6, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Pak Hei Chan, age 5, Hong Kong, China

Benjamin Castaneda, age 8, Oro Valley, Arizona, United States

Kalel Attonito, age 6, Darien, Cincinnati, United States

Noelle Shim, age 7, San Francisco, California, United States

Celine Xie, age 6, Pleasanton, California, United States

Valonia Ren, age 9, Ogden, Utah, United States

Isabella Owens, age 10, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Allison Oh, age 9, Carmichael, California, United States

Talia Marx, age 8, Westfield, Massachusetts, United States

Dasangee Madhurya Kulanthunga, age 8, Bataganvi, Galle, Sri Lanka 

Madison Hibner, age 8, West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States

Summer Woolridge, age 11, Waterloo, Canada

Helen Wang, age 11, Jericho, New York, United States

Jessica Mitchell, age 10, Waterloo, Canada

Kanyanan Jirathanaprasert, age 12, Bangkok, Thailand

Hui Ching Wong, age 13, Hong Kong, China

Angelleena Hoover, age 12, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Jacob Y Glabb, age 11, Waterloo, Canada

Alexis Gallagher, age 11, Waterloo, Canada

Dexter Clark, age 13, Spanish Fork, Utah, United States

Hei Yu Chui, age 13, Hong Kong, China

Ryan Chen, age 10, Jericho, New York, United States

Kaitlyn Chan, age 12, Newark, California, United States

Rhea Bedi, age 11, Newark, California, United States

Sarah Ahned, age 11, Waterloo, Canada 

Stephania Lieben, age 14, Lafayette, California, United States

Solon Augspurger, age 15, Davenport, Iowa, United States

Lois Blackman, age 15, Davenport, Iowa, United States 

Maia Garcia, age 15, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Madison Medina, age 17, Cleveland, Alabama, United States

Yam Wing Lam, age 16, Hong Kong, China

2021 Poetry Finalists

Flynn MacQueen, age 7, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Buckley Gresham, age 7, Bethlehem, Georgia, United States

Exie Christensen, age 6, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States

Chanelie Karunarathna, age 6, Matara, Sri Lanka

Arjun Ranga, age 6, Berkeley, California, United States

Everett Ward, age 7, McLean, Virginia, United States 

Brielle Cliett, age 9, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Charlie Valk, age 8, Decatur, Georgia, United States  

Caleb Shelton, age 10, Georgia, United States  

Austin Lu, age 10, Ontario, Canada 

Wesley Hennekes, age 10, Houston, Texas, United States

Alexandra Huynh, age 12, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Caleigh Parker, age 10, Savannah, Georgia, United States

Blake Anderson, age 14, Kennesaw, Georgia, United States

Mary Beaver, age 14, Acworth, Georgia, United States

Peyton Cheung, age 13, Alameda, California, United States

Kade Treadway, age 11, Traverse City, Michigan, United States

Alyssa Wu, age 13, Pleasanton, California, United States

Evelyn Spaeth, age 13, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States 

Chloe Liu, age 13, Sammamish, Washington, United States

Laurel Aronian, age 13, North Salem, New York, United States 

Rachel Park, age 13, Irvine, California, United States 

James Park, age 13, Irvine, California, United States

Max van Someren, age 12, Boulder, Colorado, United States

Soheon Rhee, age 12, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines 

Sun Yoon, age 17, Seoul, South Korea

Emily Niebuhr, age 15, San Luis Obispo, California, United States

T. Han, age 16, Irvine, California, United States

Christopher Rivas,age 16, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 

Clara Templin, age 17, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Brynn Beatty, age 18, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Alisha Wong, age 16, Farmington, Minnesota, United States

Zion Cook, age 17, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Meghan Williams, age 18, Georgia, United States

Sarah Street, 18, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Zemmie Mullis, 17, Monroe, Georgia, United States

Michelle Zhang, 17, Macon, Georgia, United States

2021 Art and Poetry Galleries will be up soon!

A special thank you to our Poetry & Art Judges and our ROW Team for making the 2021 selection process possible: Andrew Mount (Art Director), Luz Casquejo Johnston (Former Director of the Center for Environmental Literacy in 2020), Maureen Esty (2020 River of Words Coordinator), Grace Bunting (Student Worker) and Troy Rockett (2021 River of Words Coordinator).

And thank you to our student leaders on the ROW Team: MFA Students - Kassandra Tate & Anna Nicole Torres, English Undergraduates - Samantha Newman, Sophia Nguyen, Shanali De Silva, & Maya Dahlbacka. With an increase in submissions this year and an entirely remote judging process, we are grateful for an excellent job well done for leading our poetry selection. 

Now accepting entries for the 2022 ROW Contest! If you or someone you know are eligible, Online Student Entry Forms are available on our website. We are excited to implement a new sustainability practice for our art & poetry. Submissions for our 2022 contest will be received electronically and will only be accepted by mail under extreme circumstances. Please reach out to us if you need help submitting your piece through our online submission portal.  You can find the appropriate deadlines and mailing addresses according to your region at the bottom of the River of Words Art and Poetry Contest page

 

 


2020 Winners and Finalists

2020 Category I Winner

Poetry: Adam Nelson, age 8, Tucson, AZ. United States
Art: London Adams (age 7), Amir Alzendan (age 8), Ashtyn Gibson (age 7), Patrichia Giuillaume(age 7), and Queen Sumaiyah Pierre (age 7), Brooklyn, NY. United States

2020 Category II Winner

Poetry: Jaden Sivananttan, age 10, Washington, DC. United States
Art: Charlie Valk, age 9, Decatur, GA. United States

2020 Category III Winner

Poetry: Rishi Lakshminarayanan, age 13, Bellevue, WA. United States
Art: Carly Katulka, age 13, Gainsville , GA. United States

2020 Category IV Winner

Poetry: Ada Heller, age 17, Lenexa, KS. United States
Art: Daye Kwon, age 16, Little Rock, AR. United States

2020 International Prize Winner

Mohammad Shafiq, age 14, Quetta, Balochistan. Pakistan (Afg refugee)

Monkey’s Raincoat Prize (honoring a short poem in the haiku tradition)

Esther Kim, age 16, Potomac, MD. United States

One Square Block Prize (honoring a poem that examines city-scapes and the interactions between the manmade and the natural world)

Ellen Rogers, age 17, New Orleans, LA. United States

Shasta Bioregion Prize (honoring a artist or poet from a Northern California watershed)

Aaron Huang, age 13, Los Altos, CA. United States

 

2020 Art Finalists

Kyndel Abercrombie, age 16, Alpharetta, GA. United States
Evelyn Allen, age 10, Tucson, AZ. United States
Aisyah Hana Amir Khairi, age 7, Rawang, Selangor. Malaysia
Lily Andrus, age 13, New Market, AL. United States
Amelia Bell, age 11, Decatur, GA. United States
Zoe Bellon, age 17, Johns Creek, GA. United States
Olivia DeFrancesco, age 13, Stockridge, GA. United States
Jennylee Dilney, age 8, Zachary, LA. United States
Aayushi Dixit, age 10, Fremont, CA. United States
Gabrielle Dolby, age 7, Mableton, GA. United States
Ashleigh Feltman, age 17, Chatsworth, GA. United States
Sophia Glosser, age 11, Pittsburgh, PA. United States
Camille Hall, age 13, McDonough, GA. United States
Yat Hang Li, age 6, Hong Kong, China. China
Alexandra Huynh, age 11, Atlanta, GA. United States
Kanyanan Jirathanaprasert, age 11, Bangkok. Thailand
Ranando JoseMaria Jr, age 8, Tucson, AZ. United States
Anya Kaldonski, age 7, Marana, AZ. United States
Andrew Kim, age 15, North Caldwell, NJ. United States
Jimmy Lin, age 7, Braselton, GA. United States
Olivia Lipinski, age 9, Rochester, WA. United States
Dario Liu, age 12, Alpharetta, GA. United States
Tiffany Lutan, age 15, San Ramon, CA. United States
Kaylee Minor, age 16, Harvest, AL. United States
Alivia Nagel, age 12, Buford, GA. United States
Punyanut Numnual, age 10, Bangkok. Thailand
Leon Obezo, age 6, Tucson, AZ. United States
Harini Ohm, age 6, Kennesaw, GA. United States
Camille Oliver , age 17, Irondale, AL. United States
Ithiya Oophaichit, age 8, Bangkok. Thailand
Aida Pardo, age 12, Atlanta, GA. United States
Josh Perlmutter, age 8, Atlanta, GA. United States
Connor Rapp, age 8, Rochester, WA. United States
Jessica Rhee, age 14, Conyers, GA. United States
Myles Steinberger, age 12, Argyle, NY. United States
Daniel Sturz, age 7, Roswell, GA. United States
Yuna Suh, age 12, Atherton, CA. United States
Jessica Thomas, age 18, Madison, AL. United States
Xin Tong, age 17, Guangzhou. China
Emily Wallace, age 16, Owens Cross Roads, AL. United States
Gabriel Wolfersberger, age 11, Atlanta, GA. United States
Lok Yung Wong, age 14, Hong Kong. China
Alyssa Wu, age 12, Pleasanton, CA. United States

 

2020 Poetry Finalists

Zaza Anaza, age 12, New Orleans, LA. United States
Alex Araujo, age 9, San Benito, CA. United States
Brynn Beatty, age 17, New Orleans, LA. United States
Kyle Beck, age 7, Lithia Springs, GA. United States
Ava Grace Bilello, age 7, Thomasville, GA. United States
Skye Brookfield, age 11, Washington, DC. United States
Mayan Caplan, age 16, Denver, CO. United States
Parinita Chandrashekar, age 12, Bridgewater, NJ. United States
Exie Christensen, age 5, Colorado Springs, CO. United States
Brielle Cliett, age 8, Atlanta, GA. United States
Gabriel Encarnacion-Tolentino, age 9, Centralia, WA. United States
Camila Garate, age 6, Tucson, AZ. United States
Cora Gerdes, age 13, Sarasota, FL. United States
Madelyn Hand, age 7, Tucson, AZ. United States
Katherine Haycox, age 14, Shoreline, WA. United States
Kendall Herndon, age 11, Washington, DC. United States
Alyssa Ho, age 15, Pasadena, CA. United States
Esther Kim, age 16, Potomac, MD. United States
Minseo Kim, age 16, Caroline Springs, Victoria. Australia
Nethra Madhav, age 12, San Jose, CA. United States
Abel Meyer, age 14, Seattle, WA. United States
Esperanza Milla, age 17, New Orleans, LA. United States
Yunus Nufarou, age 9, Cumming, GA. United States
Solana Owens, age 11, Aztec, NM. United States
Shaveta Papolu, age 16, Cypress, CA. United States
Christopher Pham, age 13, Kirkland, WA. United States
Olivia Ponis, age 10, Rochester, WA. United States
Sam Popp, age 10, Washington, DC. United States
Peyton Puls, age 8, Tucson, AZ. United States
Clarise Reichley, age 15, Denver, CO. United States
Maria Robles, age 7, Tuscon, AZ. United States
Violet Rodriguez, age 8, Hayward, CA. United States
Kayla Santanilla, age 12, New Orleans, LA. United States
Esther Sun, age 16, Los Gatos, CA. United States
Evelyn Swinford, age 8, Marietta, GA. United States
Clara Templin, age 16, New Orleans, LA. United States
Bruce Tete, age 15, New Orleans, LA. United States
Sunny Vuong, age 15, San Antonio, TX. United States
Lydia Wells, age 11, Cumming, GA. United States
Kevin Wu, age 9, Bellevue, WA. United States
Michael Zhao, age 16, San Jose, CA. United States