• COLE ADAMS – Kingswood-Oxford
• AVERY CHRISTENSEN – Rockville High School
• KHADIJA HUSSAIN – Wilber Cross High School
• JOSCELYN NORRIS – Westover
• KALEIGH PERKINS – Rockville High School 

Fresh Voices finalists read their poetry for a panel of judges on Friday in Hill-Stead’s Makeshift Theater, in front of 60 family members, friends, and supporters.  At the conclusion of the readings, the judges deliberated for some time and revealed the five winners.  “This year’s Fresh Voices submissions were some of the best this competition has seen,” said Executive Director and CEO, and Fresh Voices Judge Susan Ballek. “Congratulations to the Fresh Voices Finalists and Winners and thank you to all the students who participated, and to the teachers and parents who support them.” The Fresh Voices Poetry Competition provides Connecticut high school poets the experience of a lifetime, while offering students the opportunity to write and prepare poems suitable for presentation and publication.

The five winners will participate in a performance workshop with professional poets on May 31st, and their poetry will be published in a chapbook by Antrim House Press.  Winners will also share the podium with Nationally-Recognized Poets Natalie Diaz and Aja Monet on August 19th, reading their own work before a large, receptive audience in the breathtaking Sunken Garden at Hill-Stead Museum!  For more information see CT Young Poet’s Day.