Four Stroudsburg High School students were recently recognized for their outstanding poetry in the DeSales University Poetry Contest.

Junior Gabe Guida, junior Alanna Christman, senior Cayla Kouadio, and senior Fernanda Navarro each submitted original poems that were chosen.

There were over 500 submissions from various high schools in the Northeast. Only ten were recognized.

For over 20 years, English teacher Mr. Matt Sobrinski has taken students to the festival.  Sobrinski and colleague Ms. Shari Griswold attended this year with a bus full of enthusiastic writers.

“These students never cease to amaze me,” said Sobrinski.  “The festival coordinators raved about the batch of poems our SHS writers submitted.  To have four of our students selected out of all those poems is really gratifying.”

Guida won the Carol Ann Robertson Prize, while Christman, Kouadio, and Navarro were finalists.  This is the second year in a row that Christman’s poetry has been selected.

Below are the winners and their poems, enjoy!

Gallery • 4 Photos

Tyler Stone

Winner: Gabe Guida

“Every Desert Town” by Gabe Guida

“Mourn” by  Fernanda Navarro

“Three Steps” by Alanna Christman

“The Darkest Despair” by Cayla Kouadio