Winners of Harvey's Poetry Contest Selected

A panel of three judges selected the winners of Harvey’s annual Michael Lopes Poetry Recitation Contest Thursday. Ninth-grader Kiersten Wittmann of Cortlandt Manor won the upper school trophy while eighth-grader Chloe Savitch of Mount Kisco won the middle school competition. The two winners were selected from 16 finalists in the school wide contest named after a beloved English teacher who passed away in 2001. 

Kiersten Wittmann, who faced some very tough competition from seven other upper school finalists, including her older sister, said she did not expect to earn the trophy. “I didn’t think I had a chance to win because I was only a freshman and everyone else was so amazing,” said Kiersten. She chose to recite “Shrinking Women,” a poem in which author Lily Myers laments the fact that the men in her family were considered the head of the family while the women were seen as having a subordinate role. Kiersten was drawn to the poem’s theme. “I chose the poem because I come from a family of very strong, empowered women. I believe women should never be seen as less than men.” 

Chloe Savitch was awarded the middle school trophy for her recitation of “Own It” by Taylor Hoskins, a spoken word poet who wrote of how he overcame feeling marginalized and defined by being labeled with a disability. Chloe said she felt a strong connection to the poem. “It was like the words were a part of me,” she said. Having to perform her recitation before a packed theater with the entire student body and staff watching along with parents, the eighth-grader said she was nervous on the way to the podium. “I was shaking and I was afraid I’d forget the words. It was nerve-wracking but I got through it because I just let the words carry me through.” She also credits her actor training and her experiences in Harvey Middle School productions with helping her perform the poem. Chloe had the lead in “The Little Mermaid” in February and will play the lead again this spring in “Hello Dolly.” 

The other local finalists were freshman Macy Drude and sixth-grader Emma Spada of Katonah, Hana Cornell of Amawalk, sophomore Julia Slater of North Salem and senior Tristan Watson of Pound Ridge. 

The judges this year were writer and editor Christine Orchanian Adler, poet Kate Irving and Harvey School board of trustees member Jeff Lasdon, who once studied with the so-called “Beat poets” Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Gregory Corso.