Three Senior School students have been recognized for their writing in the League of Canadian Poets' annual Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize.
On Friday, June 14, the winners and honourable mentions were announced and among them were Grade 11 student Angelina Shandro (2nd place, Senior category), Grade 12 student Max Zhang (3rd place, Senior) and Grade 12 student Rashid Al-Abri (runner-up, Senior).
The winning poems are also published on the League of Canadian Poets website, so you can read:
- 'The day after you left' by Angelina Shandro
- 'Calabash' by Max Zhang
At those links you'll find the judges' comments. You can also read an interview with Max about his poem and experience writing poetry.
"'Calabash' is a tribute to my own experience moving from China, where I had spent my childhood. When you move away from your family to a new country, there’s the creeping fear that you’ll forget your roots when you are so immersed in an entirely different culture," Max says.
The Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize is open to youth across Canada and "was established to foster a lifelong relationship between Canadian youth and the literary arts, specifically poetry."
(Photo courtesy of the League of Canadian Poets)
