COMMENTS FROM CONTEST JUDGE MARIE KANE:

A note to all finalists:

You are to be congratulated on your excellent entries to the 2011 Sarah Mook Poetry Contest. What trouble I had this year in deciding the winners! Because your work was advanced on all levels, my efforts took a longer time than usual to make the final decision.

Know that your poems were read with care and attention to detail. I enjoyed every one of them!

Sincerely,
Marie Kane

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This lovely little poem uses similes to express how characters of the Korean language appear when they spell out the poet's name. Each line of the poem gives an inventive description for the corresponding Korean character, then prints the Korean letter itself. With its cross between a kind of concrete poem and an acrostic, its subject matter and use of simile, the poem charms the reader.

The first two lines describe the corresponding Korean letters as similar to "writing a lower case o," then a letter that "stands like the number one or a lower case l," then giving the Korean language letters ?and ?, respectively.

The poet continues with lively description of the next letters: they "resemble[s] Abraham Lincoln in a top hat" with the symbol?, while the following letter "soars like a mini-fighter plane," with the symbol?.

The subsequent three lines end the poet's name and contain letters that "split like a banana peel," the Korean symbol being?, "sail like a vertical battleship," and the Korean letter?, and "point(s) like a rectangular finger," and the Korean symbol of?.

To conclude the poem, the speaker spells out his or her name in Korean and translates its meaning: "to serve with care and respect."

The verbs used in the poem are also notable. Verbs such as "resemble," "stands," "soars," "sails," and "points" bring the letters to life.

Although this poem may seem simplistic as a kind of acrostic, its originality in each letter's description is certainly not. With this active and imaginative comparison of what each Korean character looks like (and acts like) to an American reader, the poet has made the meaning of his or her name come alive.

Thank you for the privilege of reading your work.

Marie Kane
Final Judge, Sarah Mook Poetry Contest