JDL is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Young Poets Contest! Thank you to the over 500 students across Jackson County who submitted an original poem for this year's contest.
Be sure to join us for the Award Ceremony on April 30 at 6 PM at Ella Sharp Museum to celebrate the winners and enjoy an evening of poetry.
Kindergarten
First Place: Annie Dudas, “Poems in the Woods”
Second Place: Mara Uphaus, “Snow”
Third Place: Leah Bush, “The Bunny”
First Grade
First Place: Oscar Drushal, “The Hockey Show”
Second Place: Lucia Imperial, “My Owner”
Third Place: Melanie Mueller, “Stars”
Honorable Mention: Logan Sharlow, “All About Me”
Second Grade
First Place: Sasha Harper-Brees, “I Am From…”
Second Place: Wyatt Uphaus, “Iwo Jima”
Third Place: Jude Evans, “The Teacher Who Lost Her Voice”
Honorable Mention: Emma Dailey, “Imagine”
Third Grade
First Place: Emma Uphaus, “Irritation Inspiration”
Second Place: Ellery Roe, “Beach”
Third Place: Ruby Shirkey, “Butterfly”
Honorable Mention: Elaine Smith, “All About School”
Fourth Grade
First Place: Lively Hampton, “My Friend Tom”
Second Place: Ford Miller, “My Backwards Day”
Third Place: Silas Brodersen, “The ABC’s of Cats”
Honorable Mention: Abby Davis, “Roses”
Fifth Grade
First Place: Harper Crum, “Road to Success”
Second Place: Lauren Gienapp, “The Monster Under My Bed”
Third Place: Luke Fannin, “Echoes of Basketball”
Honorable Mention: Ben Riske, “Mom”
Sixth Grade
First Place: Evelyn Orrison, “The Heartbeat and the Hollow”
Second Place: Franklin Ziebell, “Nature Time”
Third Place: Anajah Shell, “Hesitation”
Honorable Mention: Abigail Wcisel, “When the World Says Goodnight”
Honorable Mention: Gerald Uhl, “Desolation”
Honorable Mention: Halen Hutchinson, “Moth”
Seventh Grade
First Place: Maxwell Mata, “The Crossing”
Second Place: Claire Morgan, “The Joker”
Third Place: Abigail Stanton, “Childhood”
Honorable Mention: Ada Hutt, “Close My Eyes”
Honorable Mention: Arya Hinkle, “Ode to Family”
Eighth Grade
First Place: Amaya Rashed, “Beacon of the Forgotten Coast”
Second Place: Maggie Inman, “how i mourn for death”
Third Place: Chloe Gilbert, “Dung Beetles”
Honorable Mention: Claire Avery Evilsizer, “A Duck Named Heather”
Ninth Grade
First Place: Alyosha Webster-Hein, “The Journey of My Name”
Second Place: Sully Wables, “Grandma’s House”
Third Place: Kolbe Uphaus, “The Window of Peace”
Honorable Mention: Stella Rizzo, “Parallel Universe”
Tenth Grade
First Place: Jackson Ziebell, “The Cup in the Sink”
Second Place: Darius Smith, “October Air”
Third Place: Noah Watson, “Dumb Nimble Bimble”
Honorable Mention: Hannah LaFollette, “Joy is Christmas”
Eleventh Grade
First Place: Xavior Rutz, “Her”
Second Place: Macie Tucker, “The Flowers Died on Sunday”
Third Place: Trinity Buckingham, “The Winter Clock”
Honorable Mention: Elaine Roedema, “I Learned Early How to Shrink”
Twelfth Grade
First Place: Aubrieanne R. Bayes, “Stardust”
Second Place: Silvia Baker, “On the Sudden Realization That”
Third Place: Parker Campbell, “Spring Eventually Follows”
Honorable Mention: Olivia Snider, “Still Becoming”
- Young Poets is open to any K-12 student in Jackson County
- Poems must be the original work of the student and cannot be generated, in whole or in part, by Artificial Intelligence
- Poems should be no more than one-page (maximum of 500 words) in length - grades 9-12 - two pages (maximum of 1000 words)
- Poems should be typed or written neatly
- The student’s name, grade, school, and parent/guardian contact
information must appear on the back of the poem
(No identifying information should appear in the poem or on the poem side of the page) - Each poem must be submitted with a student registration form (unless submitted with the online form on our website)
- Poems may be submitted through a school, a JDL branch, or
online, or mailed to:
Jackson District Library
Community Engagement Department
290 W. Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI 49201 - All poems become the property of the Jackson District Library and will not be returned. The Jackson District Library retains the first rights for publication of prize-winning poems
- All poems must be received by February 20, 2026
- Four winning entries (First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention) will be chosen for each grade level.
- Poems will be judged by JDL’s Poetry Panel
- Poems will be judged by grade level
- Poems will be scored on the basis of creativity, vocabulary, quality of verse and creative expression