Poetry 99

We get it. Word counts are tough. Like all newspapers, the Chico News & Review has to adhere to them with every issue. And for this edition of our annual Poetry 99 contest, we are proud to say that, for the first time in many years, all of the local wordsmiths whose work was chosen for publication met the restrictive guidelines and kept their poems to 99 words or fewer. Congrats, and thank you! And thanks also to our esteemed judging panel—the English teachers, instructors, published writers and editors of the 1078 Gallery Literary Committee—as well as all of the hundreds of writers who entered this year. Happy National Poetry Month, everyone!

Notes: Names are stripped from all stories before judging so writers’ identities do not influence their decisions.

And, in the high school division, two of the top finishers and two honorable mentions are from students at Table Mountain School inside Butte County Juvenile Hall. In order to protect their privacy, only first names are included with their stories.