Cashmere teens shine at annual poetry slam event

CASHMERE – The 4th annual Cashmere Teen Poetry Slam was a well-attended success and organizers are making plans to expand the event for next year. 

The Feb. 22 event gave teens the opportunity to present their original poems to the public. This year’s theme was “My Future Me”.

“With over 100 in attendance, our 4th annual Cashmere Teen Poetry Slam went off very smoothly and was successful once again,” Cashmere Branch Librarian Lisa Lawless said.

“I’m so excited to continue this,” she said.

Lawless hopes to expand the event next year by offering a workshop to help teens learn presentation skills before the event. 

Out of 71 entries, the top 15 were selected to present their original poetry to the public. A panel of judges scored the poetry entries for creativity and connection to the theme. 

“We were privileged to hear from 14 teens that attend Cashmere High,” Lawless said. “They all had wonderful poetry, which our audience enjoyed.”

Because of community support, each presenter received a prize, she said.

Prize donations came from local businesses, the Cashmere Friends of the Library group, and an anonymous donation funded a second-place Grand Prize.

“We want to congratulate all our teen presenters which were: Kennedy Walgren, Grace Hodges, Emanuel Urrutia, Sophie Hill, Juliana Mora, Mackenzie Hernandez, Jared Noyes, Mia Lopez Bastida, Emmanuel Hernandez, Alexa Damian-Chamu, Brooke Chalmers, Zoe Caruso, Kaleb Thayer, Tamia A Guerrero- Chamu,” Lawless said.

The teens won gift cards to their favorite places in Cashmere. Jared Noyes won the $100 Grand Prize, and Sophie Hill was awarded the $50 second-place Grand Prize.

The event is through a collaboration between the Cashmere Library and the CHS English Department.

Quinn Propst: 509-731-3590 or quinn@ward.media.