Menlo Park’s 2023 Youth Poetry Contest was a great success!  This was our second full in-person contest, open to students in grades 2-12. Our 28 submissions came from 15 schools across our community. This year’s poets were asked to focus on what the library means to them, and the poems reflected a wonderful range of perspectives and voices. Our panel of judges had the challenging task of choosing three winners and three honorable mentions and each was invited to read their poem aloud to audiences including family members, library staff and even the Menlo Park City Council! 

 

The Menlo Park Library Foundation, which funded the prize money, looks forward to next year’s event and will announce details in early 2024. We are very thankful for the partnership with the Menlo Park Library, local school officials and, of course, our terrific students and their families. We will see you next year!