Swampscott students submitted over 100 poems to the 2026 teen poetry contest, hosted by the Swampscott Public Library and the Lee Golomb Cadiff Foundation.

Out of those submissions, 15 students were chosen as contest winners and received awards at a poetry reading on Monday. The winners of the contest, ranging from fifth grade to high school students, gathered at the library to read their work aloud to friends, family and the public. The Lee Golomb Cadiff Foundation is run by Norma Cadiff Finn, to honor her late mother Lee, who loved reading and writing poetry.

“I wish everybody could have won something,” said Sarah Giardina, head of young adult services at the library. “Kids are so artsy and talented in this town. What they’re capable of is incredible.”

Local poetry group Tin Box Poets served as judges for the poetry submitted.

The student winners of the contest were Masen Prou, Mary Seipel, Olympia Park, Hana Amara, Orla Delaney, Madeleine Norwood, Sophia Zvenigorodskiy, Greyson Oppenheim, Maxwell Rowe, Ashley Imasuen, Isabella Paz, Sophia Miele, Kathleen Nohelty, Izzy Honig and Athanasia Anamasis.

Giardina called up student winners one by one to read off their poems, which covered a variety of topics including nature and life at school.

“Reading them all as they came in, they’re so well constructed. They’re fun to read, and they’re all about different topics,” said Giardina.

Students could submit up to two poems each. Poems could be about anything and be of any structure as long as they were 40 lines or less.

The event also provided students with an opportunity to practice their public speaking.

“It’s a lot of different skills coming together,” said Giardina. “It’s a good chance for them to present their art to the public, which they might not always get to do as a teenager. It’s public speaking but it’s also creative writing and a chance to show what they’re interested in and passionate about.”