Greenbrier seniors win top honors in literacy competition

Two Greenbrier High School students won top honors in the senior division of the Morris Museum of Art's student literary competition Combining Voices.

Dr. James Kilgo, author of Deep Enough for Ivory Bills, will present awards following his keynote address in a special Artrageous Sunday! program May 5 at 2 p.m. in the museum auditorium.

Dr. Kilgo's works feature his interests in Southern literature and nonfiction prose about man and nature. He is the author of a biographical and critical study of Andrew Lytle, Dictionary of Literature Biography, 1980, and many personal essays in such journals as the Sewanee River, Gettysburg Review and the Georgia Review. He also wrote the book Inheritance of Horses, 1994.

Greenbrier's Nicholas Smith won first place in poetry, while Natasia Watkins won first place in prose. The literary competition Combining Voices is the culminating event in this year's museum programs which encourage students to develop both verbal and visual language skills.

Students in grades 3-12 were asked to write original poetry or prose in response to selected paintings from the museum collection. The competition is funded through a grant from the Porter Fleming Foundation.

Columbia County winners are:

Grades 3-5

* Emily Shank, Riverside Elementary, honorable mention;

Grades 6-8 Poetry

* Jacob Griswell, Lakeside Middle School, second place;

Grades 6-8 Prose

* Sarah Sandy, Lakeside Middle School, second place;

* Rina White, Lakeside Middle School, third place;

Grades 9-12 Poetry

* Nicholas Smith, Greenbrier High School, first place;

* Eve Mottlow, Greenbrier High, second place;

* Eric Wagner, Greenbrier High, third place;

Grades 9-12 Prose

* Natasia Watkins, Greenbrier High, first place

* Stefanie DeRitis, Greenbrier High, second place

* Elizabeth Bethune, Greenbrier High, third place.