Casey Epstein-Gross, a senior at the Solebury School, has been named the 2021 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year, officials at Bucks County Community College announced.
Epstein-Gross rose to the top of more than 150 entries in the 34rd annual contest, part of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program administered by the college.
For her first-place finish, Epstein-Gross wins $300 and was honored with a virtual poetry reading.
The three poems Epstein-Gross submitted for the contest were titled, “Allecto, Queen of the Furies,” “It’s Kind of a Really Nice Day,” and “The Most Efficient Way to Eat an Orange.”
The judges were Jane Edna Mohler, the 2020 Bucks County Poet Laureate, and Mary Jo LoBello Jerome, the 2019 Bucks County Poet Laureate.
Mohler said Epstein-Gross’ poems “offer the reader a fantastic kaleidoscope of pungent images. This poet masters language, bends it to her will with an onslaught of sometimes uncomfortable, true images. The lines are pure excitement.”
Jerome called her poems “masterful. They engage the imagination and open vistas of reflection. The poet has crafted delightful images around original subjects with an artful and gifted grasp of language.”
In addition to the winner, the judges also named the following students as runners-up:
First runner-up: Annika Crawford, George School, 11th grade, “A violated girl is a field after battle,” “Aurora/Chairlift Soliloquy,” “Dissonance”;
Second runner-up: Madeline Yates, Central Bucks High School West, 11th grade, “Matcha Tea,” “In All Honesty,” “Autumn’s Good Morning”;
Third runner-up: Rhianna Searle, George School, 10th grade, “Praying,” “Snow Day” and “Separation.”
The three runners-up and the judges will read from their works during the virtual celebration.
This isn’t the first time Epstein-Gross has been honored for her writing. She was awarded a gold medal and multiple regional gold and silver keys in the 2021 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the Philadelphia Writing Project.
Epstein-Gross won for her critical essay, “’Looking Through the Window’: Narrative Form and the Act of Reading as Voyeurism in Wuthering Heights.” Since 1923, the awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated artists and writers while they were teenagers, including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates and Andy Warhol.
She’s also active in extracurricular activities as senior class co-president, Holmquist proctor, peer leader, Solemate, and judiciary committee member. Her interests include political science, English, philosophy and other humanities fields.
The 34rd annual Bucks County High School Poet of the Year contest is another way that Bucks County Community College contributes to the cultural heritage of the region. To learn more, visit bucks.edu/poets.
The other finalists in the contest:
Eliza Babitt, Central Bucks High School East, 12th grade;
Matilda Bray, New Hope-Solebury High School, ninth grade;
Lauren Burchell, Central Bucks High School West, 10th grade;
Yvonne Burke, Central Bucks High School South, 12th grade;
Jayleen Chaves, Bucks County Technical High School, ninth grade;
Eryn Cianciola, Quakertown Community High School, 11th grade;
Kate Connolly, Council Rock High School South, 12th grade;
Kara Girard, Bensalem Township High School, 10th grade;
Alexandra Gitman, Central Bucks High School West, ninth grade;
Alyssa Heron, Bristol High School, 11th grade;
Ciara Meenan, Council Rock High School South, 12th grade;
Adeline Musselman, Bucks County High School West, 12th grade;
Marissa Newbauer, Council Rock High School, 12th grade;
Katy Nicholas, Bucks County High School West, 11th grade;
Raisah Peshkepia, Council Rock High School South, 12th grade;
Kaitlyn Pine, Council Rock High School, 12th grade;
Julia Roman, Quakertown Community High School, 12th grade.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
