2016-17 RIVER OF WORDS WINNERS & FINALISTS

August 11, 2017

We are happy to announce the Winners and Finalists of the 2016-17 River of Words Contest! As usual, the judges had a difficult time choosing from the thousands of entries. This year's entrants displayed a remarkable connection to the places they live and to their unique experiences with municipal, social, and natural systems. We congratulate all the students and teachers who participated in this year's contest.

The 2016-17 River of Words winning artwork can be found here! Winning poems as well as the International Prize, Shasta Bioregion, and Monkey's Raincoat winners will be posted momentarily. 

 

2016-2017 Category I Winner

Poetry: Noah Anderson, age 7, Milledgeville GA

Art: Laura Hu, age 8, Northbrook IL

 

2016-2017 Category II Winner

Poetry: Iris  Pope, age 10, Whitefield  ME

Art: Mia Lingens, age 9, Santa Cruz CA

 

2016-2017 Category III Winner

Poetry: Rebecca Oet, age 13, Solon OH

Art: Nicole Li, age 12, Johns creek GA

 

2016-2017 Category IV Winner

Poetry: Christopher  Chandra, age 16, Johns Creek GA

Art: Ziche (Ava) Wang, age 15, Atlanta GA

 

2016-2017 International Prize Winner

Vinci Chan, age 6, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon Hong Kong, China

 

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

Maren Cooper, age 10, Westport Island ME

 

SHASTA BIOREGION PRIZE (Honoring a Student from Northern California)

 Emma Grover, age 17, Stanford CA

 

2016-17 Poetry Finalists

Emma Almaguer, age 10, San Rafael CA

Alexandra Arient, age 12, Concord CA

Sarah Baldino, age 17, Bethesda MD

Sydney Barber, age 17, Lake Forest  IL

Ariella Benor, age 8, Los Angeles CA

Shani Binyamin, age 16, Chardonne, Switzerland

Suraiya Brister, age 10, San Francisco CA

John Bussey, age 13, Olympia WA

Kathy Cao, age 15, Commack NY

Julia Du, age 16, Afton MN

Will Egan, age 14, Sarasota FL

Marissa  Ellis, age 7, Flora Vista NM

Kali Fillhart, age 17, Suffolk VA

Chui Yi Ho, age 14, San Francisco CA

Jarvis Hodges, age 9, San Francisco CA

Amerika  Jones, age 11, Rochester WA

Makenna Kwik, age 14, San Francisco CA

Mia Lombardo, age 6, San Jose CA

Datta Madhav, age 7, San Jose CA

Niko Mann, age 8, San Anselmo CA

Acadia McCoy, age 11, New Orleans LA

Rija McDizzle Sabeeh, age 11, Cockeysville MA

Luz  Miyar-Mullan, age 14, San Francisco CA

Maxine Moody, age 11, Seattle WA

Emma Nathanson, age 13, San Geronimo CA

Shanmugesh Raja, age 13, San Ramon CA

Charlize Ramirez, age 6, Rochester WA

Clara Roush, age 9, Montesano WA

Greg Sander, age 15, Little River  SC

Chloe  Sobelman, age 10, San Francisco CA

Maya Thisner, age 13, Fairfax CA

Jehan Vanniasinkam, age 10, San Ramon CA

Cora Viehl, age 7, Denver CO

Ian  VonFrank, age 9 Edgecomb, ME

Carson Wallis, age 8, Centralia WA

Jasmine Wang, age 14, San Francisco CA

Sara Yeshak, age 10, Seattle WA

 

2016-17 “On Writing” Poetry

Shimwa Augusta, age 13, Kigali , Rwanda

Jeremiah Davis, age 19, Greenville SC

Juliette Kheyfets, age 16, Middleburg PA

Lesley Mendoza-Gomez, age 11, Saint Louis CA

Jayden Swick-Custer, age 12, Sarasota FL

 

2016-17 Art Finalists

Lovina Andersen, age 13, Rochester WA

Ashley  Beltran, age 13, Gainesville GA

Dominic Burnham, age 11, Farmington NM

Raksa Chanposri, age 8, Nonthaburi , Thailand

Nathaniel  Clough, age 11, Atlanda GA

Braylen Edwards, age 10, Farmington NM

Reagon  Goss, age 5, Flowery Branch GA

Kennard Alvaro Hadinata, age 7, Surbaya East Java, Indonesia

Serenne Henry-Mitchell, age 10, Olympia WA

Yejin  Hwang, age 18, Alpharetta GA

Nicole Klein, age 11, Bandung , Indonesia

Kaitlin  Lee, age 7, Plainfield  IL

Happy Leveson-Jones, age 10, Atlanta GA

Nicole  Li, age 12, Johns creek GA

Jolie Liu, age 14, Lilburn GA

Aiden Mahler, age 10, Cumming GA

Valerie  McCarthy, age 8, Fremont CA

Lena  Moller, age 12, Flowery Branch GA

Una Nikolić, age 8, Backo Dobro Polje , Serbia

Sara Rajpathak, age 7, Redmond WA

Sara Rajpathak, age 7, Redmond WA

Venya Raxwal, age 13, Rockaway NJ

Neha Ray, age 17, Kolkata West Bengal, India

Daniel Reyes, age 7, Watsonville CA

Celine S Choi, age 11, Centennial CO

Samantha Siegel, age 16, Short Hills NJ

Natalie Silbourg, age 12, Bandung , Indonesia

Nadiya A. Smyrnova, age 18, Madison AL

Nathan  Soganich, age 8, Morrietta  Ga

Manahil Syeda, age 10, San Ramon CA

Stephanie Tian, age 16, Suwanee GA

Clare Troll, age 8, Somerset PA

Christine Troll, age 14, Somerset PA

Brendan Turner, age 10, Cumming GA

Holden Turner, age 12, Flowery Branch GA

Helen  Viec, age 13, Gainesville GA

Jeremy Weinstein, age 16, Davenport IA

Yalda Yaqubi, age 14, Kabul, Afghanistan

Karen Ye, age 10, Lilburn GA

 

Our 2016-17 winners and finalists hail from:

United States: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington

And Elsewhere: Afghanistan, China, India, Indonesia, Rwanda, Serbia, Switzerland, Thailand

 

Special thanks to our guest 2016-17 Art and Poetry Judges who made all this possible: Andrew Mount, Kevin Peters, Nestor Gomez, Anna Harmon, Briana Swain, Katie Walker. And of course to our very own ROW Team who made the event possible: Maureen Esty, Ambereise McElrath, Amanda Ramos, and Bri Stuart. 

If you or someone you know are eligible for the 2018 contest, Online Student Entry Forms are now available through our website . You can find your appropriate Deadlines and Mailing Address at the bottom of the River of Words Art and Poetry Contest page.