COMMACK SCHOOLS

At the birthplace of Walt Whitman, CHS sophomore Sarah G. continued to share her passion for poetry with her contemporaries.

Sarah, who is completing the first year of a two-year term as Suffolk County's teen poet laureate, hosted a Suffolk County Youth Poetry Competition celebration on Saturday afternoon in South Huntington.

Sarah helped present awards to other high-school-age poets from throughout Suffolk County and also released an anthology of the young local poets' works.

Caitlyn Shea, the executive director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, praised Sarah.

"We would not be here today without her," Shea said.

County legislators Stephanie Bontempi, Tom Donnelly and Rebecca Sanin all joined Sarah at the event.

Sarah praised her contemporaries for their poetry, noting it requires courage to have your work available publicly for others to consume and critique.

"The important thing is to be brave and do it anyway," Sarah said.