Adult Category winner Michael Ivory is pictured with O, Miami co-executive director Caroline Cabrera.
This past winter, more than 500 Miamians, including a 7-year-old, sat down and wrote a love poem to their city, but not just any love poem – a 14-line sonnet.
Now, Elevate Cities and Elevate Miami, in partnership with O, Miami and SWWIM, are announcing the winners of “Sonnet Boom: Love Poems for Miami.”
The citywide contest, which launched in January, invited residents to submit original sonnets reflecting their connection to the “305.” The public voting period drew 140,000 votes. Teachers brought the contest into classrooms on their own initiative and, in at least one case, a teacher personally typed every one of her students’ handwritten poems so they could be officially submitted.
“This is the biggest contest that we’ve experienced from a community involvement perspective in over 15 years,” said Caroline Cabrera, co-executive director of O, Miami.
“Having this many votes is wildly impressive and proves that Miamians are hungry to share their story.”
Submissions were received from 19 states and eight countries, all connected by a shared love for Miami, with poems in Spanish, English, French and Creole. From the rhythmic “reggaeton blasting in streets” to the familiar comfort of cafecito and family traditions, the sonnets explore cultural identity, migrations, language, and everyday magic that makes Miami feel like Miami.
Top Adult Category finishers:
First Place: Michael Ivory (“Magic City”)
Second Place: Clayre Benzadón (“Miami (Debutante) Sonnet”)
Third Place: Nyah Hardmon (“305786”)
Top Youth Category finishers:
First Place: Ava, Grade 10, Ransom Everglades School (“The Pink Hotel Threw Fire”)
Second Place: Andrea, Grade 10, The Cushman School (“Border to Boulevard”)
Third Place: Nadine, Grade 8, Miami Arts Charter School (“Magic City”)
Winners in both categories receive prizes of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place, along with opportunities for publication and live performance across the city. Read the winning poems at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jNE_XCvtH-iVRqcRi2ZGSAa5MUzopCUvTBazoxSsSRo/edit?usp=sharing
“When people write about the city they love, they are doing more than making art, they are building a sense of belonging,” said Eileen Higgins, Mayor of the City of Miami. “Sonnet Boom brought Miami together across languages, generations, and neighborhoods, and it proves that our culture is one of our greatest strengths.
“That is civic pride in action, and it is exactly the kind of community spirit we want to keep building across Miami,” Higgins said. “I am grateful to Elevate Miami, O, Miami, and SWWIM for creating a space where Miamians can be heard and celebrated.”
Youth finalists and winners were selected by a distinguished panel of literary leaders, including Miami-Dade County Poet Laureate Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Inaugural Miami-Dade Poet Laureate Richard Blanco, SWWIM co-founder Catherine Esposito Prescott, O, Miami co-executive director Caroline Cabrera and poet and author Fabienne Josaphat.
While judges selected the primary winners, the public also had the opportunity to vote on their favorite submissions through an online gallery. Michael Ivory emerged as the top recipient of the public vote, further cementing his poem “Magic City,” which vividly describes “hibiscus trumpets blaring life” and “mangrove roots prophesying,” as a community favorite.
“In a time when so much of our lives are mediated by technology, poetry offers something rare: an unfiltered human voice,” said Kim Coupounas, CEO of Elevate Cities. “It creates space for reflection, for meaning, and for connection, both to place and to each other.
Sonnet Boom is about more than poems; it’s about reminding people that they have a role in shaping the story of their city. That kind of authorship – and belonging – feels more important than ever.”
Catherine Esposito Prescott, co-founder of SWWIM, added, “A city is made of the people who love it. This initiative allowed Miamians to see themselves not just as residents, but as creators of the city’s culture.”
The winners and finalists were recognized live during a special community celebration at YoungArts on Apr. 8, coinciding with National Poetry Month. The evening featured live readings of the winning poems, including Ava’s first place youth entry describing “sugared tile still cooling from the night,” and Michael Ivory’s reflection on the “language of heat like love.”
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