Nadia Gandhi – Special to Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – LRHS junior Madelyn Hotaling placed third in the 2022 Manatee Libraries Teen poetry contest.
Seventy-nine poems were submitted from students across Manatee and Sarasota County.
Hotaling’s poem was called “The Problem.” It was about experiences she encountered and changes that she believed would make the world a safer place.
LRHS junior Emma Bourdeau produced the contest’s cover art, “Mango.”
LRHS freshman Khushi Talluru also won an honorable mention for her poem, “My Hero Forever and Always.”
Hotaling’s and Talluru’s poems will be published in the 805 Lit+ Art Magazine on Saturday, April 30, along with other selected poems.
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Hotaling said, “I was fairly surprised that I won, given that there were almost 80 poetry submissions.”
The top three winners will receive a cash prize and personalized feedback from the poetry coordinator at “The New Yorker”, Hannah Aizenman.
Manatee libraries teen librarian Molly Saunders stated, “The teen poetry contest is one of my favorite events of the year, and I feel honored to read everyone’s work. I think it’s amazing how much talent we have in our area.”
Mustangs can hear all submitted poems at the Teen Poetry Contest Reading at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30at the Braden River Library.
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