Jan. 10, 2025
By Caitlin Correia
Staff Writer
Outside, snow was falling, but inside, the competition was heating up as 37 students participated in the 15th Annual Winter Poetry Slam in the media center on Dec. 20.
At the end of the event, which was judged by four faculty members, sophomore Allison Vasquez took home first place, followed by sophomore Mariam Selim and senior Drew Bancroft. Honorable mention awards went to junior Isabella Bartlett, sophomore Gabriel Campos, junior Zahara Chowdhury, junior Natalia Hernandez and senior Gianna Penny.
Vasquez, who participated in the winter and spring poetry slams last year, said their poem, “Glow,” was based on the horror fantasy movie “I Saw the TV Glow” and influenced by their own experiences.
“I want people, and especially kids in this school, to feel like they don’t have to hide who they are [because] not many in the school will judge you for it,” Vasquez said. “If you can accept who you are, then you’ll be happy, and you can let your TV glow.”
Vasquez said they value the supportive atmosphere at the poetry slams.
“You should write to express your thoughts, your feelings [and] your emotions,” Vasquez said. “You don’t have to be scared [to share your poetry because] you’ll have an amazing support group to talk to if something happens with your poem or you feel you didn’t do well.”
Selim, who participated in last year’s winter poetry slam, said she was honored to earn a second-place award.
“I felt like my poem was good, but there were a lot of [other] great poems,” Selim said. “It was a cool experience [watching students’] poems come to life.”
Selim said her interest in women’s empowerment inspired her to write “Women,” which addresses womanhood and its evolution.
“My mom always raised me to stand up for myself and not quiet down because somebody else is more important,” Selim said.
She said the message of her poem is that women can achieve their dreams.
“I kind of take that to heart. I push that onto my friends,” Selim said.
Bancroft, a webmaster for The Lighthouse, has participated in LHS’ poetry slams since his freshman year. He earned third place for his poem, “Your Last Summer Vacation,” which is about the fleeting nature of the summer before senior year.
“We are never really able to savor the time that we have,” Bancroft said. “When we are able to, it’s only for such a brief moment. Then, it’s gone.”
“You should write to express your thoughts, your feelings [and] your emotions.”
Bancroft said he encourages other students to participate in future poetry slams.
“Everyone has a story here at this high school, and no matter what you put out there, someone is going to relate to you,” Bancroft said. “Maybe they’ll take something away from it that someone else wouldn’t.”
English teacher Ms. Burns, who has been judging poetry slams for about a decade, said selecting the winners was especially challenging because the students did an exceptional job presenting their poetry.
“We had so many to choose from… so it was really difficult,” Burns said. “[In the winning] poems, we felt passion. We felt realness, rawness [and] emotion.”
Burns said she looks forward to the poetry slams every year.
“It’s always so great getting to see all of our students in a different light and getting to know things about them that we might not know in the classroom,” Burns said. “It is just such a privilege to be able to be a part of it.”
