Brookewood Celebrates 6th JWM Memorial Poetry Contest
On Saturday, May 2, 2026, Brookewood School and The Avalon School welcomed students, families, and friends to Brookewood for the sixth annual Joseph W. McPherson Memorial Poetry Contest. Ten finalists, selected from 112 submissions across 21 public and private schools in Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County, recited their original poems before a full audience.
This year’s winners are:
First Place: Devin Boakye, Saint Albans School: “Musings of Lydia to Her Offspring #1”
Second Place: Eve Mayer, Brookewood School: “Light”
Third Place: Olivia Wu, National Cathedral School: “Epitaph”
Our first panel of judges—Cherie Walsh, AP English and Poetry teacher at Brookewood; Tom Tobin, AP English teacher at Avalon; and award-winning poet Sally Rosen Kindred—selected the ten finalists from the field of submissions. They were joined for the final round by Madlyn McPherson, a lifelong English teacher, widow of Joe McPherson, and longtime friend of both schools, who together chose this year’s top three.
The contest honors Joseph W. McPherson (1948–2019), Brookewood’s founder who wrote thousands of sonnets on history, religion, art, and natural history. His work and spirit continue to shape Brookewood and Avalon’s shared commitment to the study and recitation of poetry.
Cash prizes were awarded to the top three winners, and each of the seven additional finalists received $100 in recognition of their achievement. Congratulations to all our finalists, and a heartfelt thank you to our judges, the participating schools, and the families who encouraged their young poets along the way.
