Maxwell Corydon Wheat, Jr., Nassau County Poet Laureate, recently announced his Nassau County Poet Laureate Students Poetry Writing Contest starting in September for elementary, secondary and high school grades in Nassau County. Wheat said that the contest is designed to "bring out the best in our young people's language creativity."

Submissions deadline is January 15, 2009. Send to NCPL, School Poetry Contest, P. O. Box 611, East Meadow, NY 11554. For information and suggestions showing that teaching poetry writing can be easy, consult the website, maxwellcorydonwheatjr.com.

"Children's poems are examples of poetry in its purest form," said Susan Astor, Poet-in-the-Schools and consultant for the contest. "They are well-condensed, well-detailed, emotionally intense and frequently lyrical. Like all literature, they provide meaningful insights into the human condition. Some of the finest literature being written today is being written in the classroom."

Wheat said, "The object of the contest is to stimulate this artistic ability of our students to write literature, specifically poetry."

"The world is ready for children's poetry," said Judy Turek, East Meadow, the Nassau County Poet Laureate Committee School Project Chairperson, who is managing the contest. "Poetry is as important as math and science and like them has served the community for centuries," Turek said. "Our young are going to use science and math throughout their lives so why wouldn't we expect them to use poetry? Introducing kids to poetry in the school environment gives them the opportunity, the ability, the permission to use language to describe things and to express their emotions."

"If funding is obtained," said Paula Camacho, Farmingdale, coordinator of the committee, "the culmination of the contest will be a literary anthology of poems by Nassau County students. We hope to have the anthology available for our awards ceremony, 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, 2009, at Freeport Memorial Library, Freeport."

Wheat said "We think this publication will be a first in American culture -- a book of literature, being poems by students in all grade levels."

"Making it possible for their students to enter this contest," Wheat urges teachers, "will be a contribution to their skills in writing and a contribution to American literature."