By Lena Golden
The Maija Golden Creative Writing Foundation hosted their second annual awards ceremony for the Maija Golden Poetry Rebel Awards at the Long Hill Library on May 18, 2018. The event that presented awards to students in grades K-12 had an audience of approximately 150 people that enjoyed listening to poetry recitals and the launch of the foundation’s first publication From Angels to Rebels available at Amazon worldwide. The journal that was self-published by Millington resident Tara Cibelli and Lena Golden of Gillette includes original artwork by former Millington resident Whitney (Combs) van Praagh, Bedminster resident Whitney Ehnert, Millington resident and Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS) student Giulia Banfi, Emma Sleightholme of Summit as well as a selection of short stories and poems from the foundation’s first year from students that have participated in classes, workshop and that have submitted scholarship applications.
The 2018 poetry contest had 103 students submit poems from Long Hill and surrounding towns Warren, Watchung and Green Brook thus expanding the contest to all of the WHRHS sending district this year. Students were judged by a jury in three different groups, elementary, middle school, and high school. The prizes were presented by Long Hill Township Library director Mrs. Lyn Begraft and Mrs. Lena Golden. The elementary school winner was Daniel Raimer, a fourth grade student at Millington Elementary with his poem A Tribute To Gila’ad Ya’acobi, z”l (Sgt. Gilad Yaakobi), a genuinely touching poem that honors a fallen soldier in the Israeli defense force. Honorable mentions were given to elementary students Ella DiNorscio, Cole Lesser, Isla Fairstein, Harrison Graves, Sienna Simo, Brigid Belfield, Timothy Denis Kezerashivili, and Savannah Neri all of Millington Elementary School and Brandon Bellish of Warren. Brandon who is in first grade was also the youngest contestant.
Warren resident and eight grader Inica Kotasthane, with her poem these rays in my palm, was the winner of the sixth to eight grade level which also included five honorable mentions to Alessandra Abeijon, Harrison Quinn, Hannah Han, Stephanie Sopla and Björn Golden. The honorable mention recipients are all students of Central Middle School in Stirling. The eight graders at CMS have been inspired and encouraged by English teacher Mrs Isabella DeBiasse to find their poet within and the whole 8th grade class wrote poems and as many as 40 students in their grade submitted poems to the contest. Parents were astounded of the quality of the writing their own children had produced.
The overall contest winner as well as this year’s high school Maija Golden Poetry Rebel was Jenny Li, a junior at WHRHS. Jenny’s poem Unhinged was professionally delivered by herself as she like all other winners present read her poem to a very impressed and excited audience. Honorable mentions for the high school level were given to Connor Cirroti, a Delbarton student and WHRHS students Sabrina Lane and Sam Hoffmann.
The foundation was founded in April 2017 by the Golden family of Gillette in honor of their daughter Maija who passed away in February the same year. A talented creative writer, Maija, was a freshman at WHRHS and an inspiration to many. The foundation has with the help of teachers and staff at Long Hill township schools been able to offer free classes and workshops in creative writing and debate to students taught by CMS teachers Maura Aimette and Isabella DeBiasse as well as CMS librarian Patricia Paugh. Poetry classes for the elementary school level has been taught by Mrs Noelle Milito who is a teacher at Millington Elementary School. Ms. Aimette, who had been Maija’s sixth grade English teacher approached the Goldens early on and offered to teach classes in Maija’s name and as the Goldens had contemplated starting a foundation to honor their daughter’s memory that became the incentive to form the foundation.
The foundation also gives out an annual scholarship to a graduating high school senior at WHRHS and the first recipient was Brooke Stanicki of Green Brook and class of 2017. Ms Stanicki is just finishing her freshman year at Johns Hopkins University.
More information about the foundation can be found at their website themaijafund.org as well as on their Facebook and Instagram pages. The foundation graciously accepts donations to fund future activites and scholarships but also creative writing submissions from K-12 students to their annual journal as well as suggestions for future programs and collaborations. The Maija Golden Creative Writing Foundation is currently working with a boy school out of the WHRHS sending district as well as with a private library in New York City.
(above, back row, l-r) Jenny Li, Maddie Scammell, Lena Golden, Lyn Begraft, Dan Raimer (front row, l-r) Brandon Bellish, Cole Lesser, Isla Fairstein, Ella DiNorscio, Sienna Simo, Timothy Denis Kezerashivili, Harrison Graves and Brigid Belfield.
Photo by Mike Lesser
(above) Standing room only as an estimated 150 people gather for the second annual Maija Golden Poetry Rebel Awards 2018.
Photo by Camilla Sivertsson
