Haverhill, MA (May 18, 2022) –  Northern Essex Community College is proud to sponsor the 14th Annual Peace Poetry Contest and Reading. Each year, students from K-12 classrooms (both public and private) and those adults affiliated with these schools are invited to create and submit original poems on the subject of peace. Participants are also encouraged to submit original artwork.

“The artwork and poems submitted this year are beautiful testaments to the shared hope humanity has for peace and the incredible connection between all human beings,” says Elle Yarborough, professor of English at Northern Essex and coordinator of the Peace Poetry Contest and Reading. Yarborough works with the local schools to help students in their creative process.  “I am meeting via Zoom with different classes to talk about their poems and to read a children’s book about writing poetry.  This compilation of poetry is just beautiful and includes entries from the Merrimack Valley to as far away as Ghana!”

A committee of Northern Essex faculty and staff select winners in each age group. This year, about 350 pieces will be shared during a special reading on the NECC Peace Poetry Instagram account, on Friday, May 20 at 6pm. About 225 of the submissions will also be published in a bound book, which will then be distributed to the poems’ authors.

The Peace Poetry Contest & Reading is a program offered under the Service Learning umbrella at NECC. This contest is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student and Academic Affairs, Division of Liberal Arts, the English Department, and Service Learning Committee. Learn more by visiting the Peace Poetry webpage.