Winners announced for Edith Wharton writing competition

Lenox, Mass. (May 11, 2005) --

The winners in the Eighth annual Edith Wharton Writing Competition have been announced by Edith Wharton Restoration at The Mount, co-sponsors of the competition with The Berkshire Eagle. The yearly event, open to all high school juniors and seniors in Berkshire County and bordering towns, was established in 1998 to encourage and reward good writing in the name of one of America’s greatest writers.  Wharton’s turn-of-the-century estate, The Mount, is open to the public as a museum and is in the midst of a major restoration.

The competition is underwritten by a generous grant from The Foxhollow School Foundation. Good writing was central to an education at The Foxhollow School, which owned The Mount from 1942 to 1975.

130 entries were received in the three categories of fiction, poetry, and essay. The judges for the competition this year were: Cassandra Cleghorn for essay, Karen Shepard for fiction, and Peter Filkins for poetry.  Cleghorn and Shepard are faculty members at Williams College, and Filkins teaches at Simon’s Rock College.   

The First Place winners, receiving an award of $500 each, are:
Essay: Linnéa Kristina Clark (Miss Hall’s School, 11^th grade): “Becoming the Dream”
Fiction: Taylor W. Coster (Lenox Memorial High School, 12^th grade): “Men vs. Women”
Poetry: Hannah Sheldon-Dean (Berkshire School, 11^th grade): “Muse 303”
  “Vampire Slayers and Hockey Players” “Infernal Racket” “The Botanic Garden”

Winners of the Citation of Merit, receiving an award of $100 each, are:
Essay: Sarah Hirsch (Mt. Greylock Regional High School, 12^th grade): “Awake”
Fiction: David Thier (Mt. Greylock Regional High School, 12^th grade): “The Thaw”
Poetry: Tarsi Dunlop (Berkshire Country Day School, 12^th grade): “Watchful Eyes”
  “The Greenhouse” “My Old Man” “Elemental”

The judges also cited entrants deserving of Honorable Mention. They are:
Essay: Joshua Wright Appelbaum (Mt. Greylock Regional High School, 12^th grade):
  “The Disobediant Swine”
Fiction: Eleanore Goerlach (Mt. Greylock Regional High School, 11^th grade): “Day in the Life”
Poetry: Algy Gregory (Berkshire Country Day School, 12^th grade): “Front Page”
  “Dog-eared and Lazy” “Insanity” “Darwin”
Henry Spencer Switlik (Berkshire School, 11^th grade): “A Home Away from Home”
  “Let the Children Dream” “When Eternity Falls” “My Spastic A.D.D.”

A ceremony honoring the awardees will be held at The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, on May 24 at 4:00 PM.  For additional information, please call David Dashiell at (413) 637-1899, ext. 115.  The winning entries will be published in a special supplement to The Berkshire Eagle.