CM Poets and Writers: Picturing America

The Catholic Memorial Picturing America Writing Contest concluded on Tuesday afternoon in the CM Board Room with an awards ceremony honoring some of CM’s top writers. On hand were judges Michael Connelly ’82, author of 26 Miles to Boston and Rebound: Basketball, Busing, Larry Bird and the Rebirth of Boston (non-fiction), as well as faculty member Craig Spaner (poetry) and faculty member Joe McGonegal (fiction).

The following students read their award-winning pieces and received $100, $25, and a bookstore gift, respectively, for 1st, 2nd, and Honorable Mention places.

Fiction winners:
1st place - Ethan Madden ‘11
2nd place - Josh Dyson ‘12
Honorable Mention - Connor Muldoon ‘12
Honorable Mention - Casey Hamel ‘14

Poetry winners:
1st - Jonathan Lott ‘10
2nd - Ian Meschwitz ‘12
HM - Brendan MacNabb ‘10

Nonfiction winners:
1st - Brad Beckles ‘12
2nd - James Donovan ‘10
HM - Ronald Claude ‘12

Author Michael Connelly '82, left, address students, faculty and guests.

“This contest was a good way to bring the arts together and encourage good writing to continue at CM,” said contest chair and school librarian Ann Magyar. “This spring’s theme of April events—[Grant Wood’s] Patriot’s Day ride of Paul Revere and [Leslie Jones’s] photo of Ted Williams gave us a good sense of how important sports is to the life of this city. I think a lot of students picked up on that theme.”

Celebrity alumni author Michael Connelly ’82, whose next book will focus on the 1963 Navy football team, praised the winners’ insights and creativity. “Writing was always a passion of mine,” said Connelly. “And the power of writing, in this day and age, and the value of writing…has slid in a lot of people's lives.”

“Your ability to write and communicate with the written word will allow you to move forward in life,” Connelly told the finalists. “Congratulations to all that not only won, but participated in this. The ability to write will carry you to a lot more places in life than you might know right now. There's a lot of different avenues you can take, but you'll be very surprised, as you get older, to find that writing will always be a part of your life.”