In her poem, Porcher wrote a letter to the Leaning Tower of Pisa saying among other things, “You were supposed to be perfectly straight, and look like a giant wedding cake.” Â Now Buono’s is hoping this poem and the nearly 50 others featured in the first-ever online Buono’s poetry booklet will do the same for all those throughout the community who read the poems.
When Buono’s unveiled the poetry booklet, they also launched a first-ever Facebook Fans’ Choice Award whereby anyone in the community was able to cast his/her vote for the overall best high-school poet and best elementary-age poet amongst six finalists. This year, hundreds of entries written by 3rd through 5th and 10th graders came in from 17 elementary and high schools and YMCAs in Long Beach and San Pedro.
“The poems this year were the best ever, and they all contained lines worthy of praise,” said Dr. Gerald Locklin, a professor emeritus of English at Cal State University Long Beach and professional published poet and author. Also judging the competition were Dr. Patricia Cherin, a published poet, teacher, and director of the External Humanities Program at CSU-Dominguez Hills; Shannon Phillips, editor of the online poetry magazine Carnival Literary Review; Neena Strichart, publisher of the Signal Tribune; creative writers Rob Wahrhaftig and Elliot Semmelman; contest coordinator and happiness historian Keri Gee; longtime graphic designer Greg Covey; and a youth from south Orange County, Rachel Kowarsky.
 Some schools made the cultural poetry contest a required assignment, and others offered it as an extra-credit project. “The contest is a great motivator to get the kids excited about poetry and learn about another culture,” said Matt Monaghan, a 5th-grade teacher at Burnett Elementary.
 Poetry and artwork winners were honored in person, at assemblies and in classrooms, by Frank Buono on behalf of the Buono’s Family that owns Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria. Top winners received a framed certificate displaying their entry, trophies, and a Buono’s gift certificate. An on-campus pizza party will also be held at every school in the first-place poetry winner’s classroom.Â
 “It amazes us how unique every poem is, how much the youth have learned about the differences and similarities between Italian and American cultures, and in particular this year, how good these young poets and artists are at lifting people’s spirits,” Buono said.
Mary Star of the Sea Elementary fifth grader, Kelsey Kavanaugh, earned first place in the Poets’ Choice elementary category for her poem, “My Perfect Italian Day” which included the line, “!Unlike the grouchy Mona Lisa, my smile is at its best!” Â
Kim Lim, a fifth grader at Burnett Elementary School, placed second, and placing third in the category was Cabrillo Elementary 5th grader Jaymee Navarro. At the high-school level, earning Poets’ Choice distinctions were Mary Star of the Sea High School 10th grader Madison McKinley with 1st place, San Pedro High School 11th grader Misael Cortes with second, and 11th grader from Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Stephanie Sokcharoeung, with third in the category.
Sokcharoeng’s artwork submission, portraying a girl stepping into Italy, earned first place and was chosen to adorn the front cover of the online poetry booklet. First-place artist at the elementary level was Mindie Armas of Birney Elementary. Tied for second were Yesenia Garzilazo of Holy Innocents School and Margaret Soen of Burnett Elementary. Julienne Quides at Garfield Elementary earned third. For his humorous portrayal of the Leaning Tower of “Pizza,” Charley Littleworth of Fremont Elementary earned an Honorable Mention. Schools submitting the maximum number of entries were heralded this year as “Super Schools” — they included Burnett Elementary, Holy Innocents, South Shores Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts, St. Lucy Elementary, and Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
To view the online version of the poetry booklet, visit buonospizza.com/poetry.htm .
