Parkway Central High School has many student writers, but not all receive recognition for their work. For sophomore Elise Gibson, this is not the case. Gibson recently won first place in the Wednesday Club of St. Louis Junior Original Poetry Contest with her poem titled “My Sister.”
“I scanned [the poem], and my initial impression was that it was very good. I was impressed with it,” English teacher Jason Lovera said.
Gibson submitted two poems to the contest but did not expect to win. According to Gibson, the selected poem wasn’t even her favorite.
“I was kind of surprised they picked it. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite,” Gibson said.
The Wednesday Club of St. Louis is a poetry group that holds contests for adults over 18 as well as students in grades 10-12. In the contest, students submit two original poems for judgment by Billy Collins.
“The fact that she won, and Billy Collins, the former Poet Laureate, chose her is amazing. It’s worthy of recognition,” Lovera said.
Gibson submitted her poems with the help of Lovera, her English teacher. Lovera announced Gibson’s win in front of her class when the news arrived. According to Gibson, the experience was slightly embarrassing.
“I think it’s important that students be recognized for their good work in front of peers. My intent is not to embarrass anybody, it’s to congratulate them,” Lovera said.
Lovera publicly recognizes his students’ advancements in educations because he believes it encourages other students to do the same.
“We have sports assemblies, but I’m a firm believer in recognizing achievements in academics,” Lovera said. “When students see peers winning contests, it’s contagious. It not only gives confidence to the person who won, but it shows that we’re all capable of winning.”
Lovera offered extra credit for entering the contest, which motivated Gibson to enter.
“I had never really written poetry before. I just started over winter break to get the extra credit, and I was like ‘Oh, this is fun,’” Gibson said.
Because of her win, Gibson was allowed to participate in a poetry reading that she and Lovera attended.
“We picked out a poem and read it in front of judges. It was a national thing. But it’s like art, it’s subjective. So lots of judges had different opinions and canceled each other out,” Gibson said.
According to Lovera, the poetry reading was the highlight of the competition.
“Poetry has to be read out loud. The chance for the author to read it out loud is powerful in creating poetry,” Lovera said. “The number of adults, even the winners, who interacted with students after was great. The interaction is really cool.”
Gibson has continued to write poetry since discovering her talent, but only when something from her daily life inspires her.
“I can’t just sit down and write [a poem]. Sometimes the moment comes and I can write one when I get an idea or a phrase,” Gibson said.