When it comes to excellence in the English department, West is always best. Senior Caroline Lew’s poem “Change In Atmosphere” was announced as the winner of the annual Poet Laureate competition at West on March 20. Just like any of the other contestants, she submitted several essays or poems when entering into the county-wide contest.
“I didn’t expect to win, but I had an inkling of hope. I tampered it down because I didn’t want to be disappointed if I hadn’t won,” Lew said.
Lew and runner-up, Leah Cytron-Walker, will compete at a higher level on April 13 at the WS/FCS Central Office Poet Laureate competition. The Poet Laureate winner and runner-up from each school will perform their winning poems also.
This will give anyone at the Central Office the chance to interpret each poem the way they would like to. Preparing for this type of event can be a challenging experience for some, but Lew felt prepared.
“I’ve been reading my poem to myself alone in my room, and will try a mock performance with friends soon,” Lew said.
Whether it is sad, celebratory or romantic, interpreting the meaning of pieces of text is always up to the audience. The contest allowed participants to write on any topic, and Lew chose to speak from the heart.
“I began writing about someone close to me who I appreciate deeply, and actually is the friend who encouraged me to enter the contest,” Lew said.
Lew is still officially undecided when it comes to what college she wants to go to, but she knows that she wants to major in English as well as be an English teacher for middle and high school.
English teacher Stuart Egan is advocating for everyone to go to Central Office to experience the creativity of the contestants in WS/FCS.
“It’ll be a nice night of celebrating the great artistic minds of students across the county,” Egan said. So come down to see Lew and the runner-up represent your school.