Hyattsville award-winning children’s and young adult book author Mary Amato has started a weekly poetry contest for local elementary school kids, tweens and teens during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amato, who is the author of numerous children’s and young adult books books, including “News from Me, Lucy McGee,” will select one poem every two weeks through May 30 to share on Instagram and Facebook, with comments on why she chose it.
“I might choose a poem about sunflowers one week, not because it is ‘better’ than any other poems, but because it happens to be raining that day and the poem pops with light,” she wrote in contest rules on her website.
To enter, send the poem to Amato via her website https://www.maryamato.com/contact with the subject line POEM AGE (your age).
A parent must copy and paste this sentence:
I (name of parent) give my permission for my song/daughter to submit this poem to the poetry post challenge. If it is chosen, I agree that the poem and my son/daughter’s name can be posted online via Mary Amato’s Instagram/Facebook accounts.
Amato also has other resources for parents and kids trying to get through stay-at-home orders during the pandemic which you can view on her website.
