“Ode to My Mother’s Ex-Boyfriend, Ending in a Bushel of Strawberries” by Mae Tromsness of Greenville, South Carolina, has won first place in the 55th Annual Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest for Young Women.
The competition awards scholarships, prizes, and recognition for the best poems submitted by young women in high school.
A student at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Tromsness will receive a $350 cash prize; publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning student literary magazine; ten copies of Cargoes; a renewable scholarship of up to $5,000 provided through the Creative Talent Award in Creative Writing for a total value of $20,000 in scholarship funds over four years (applicable if she enrolls at Hollins); and free tuition and housing for the university’s Hollinsummer creative writing program for rising ninth through 12th grade students.
Six other works earned second place honors in this year’s contest. Each of the authors will receive publication in Cargoes; two copies of Cargoes; a renewable scholarship of up to $1,000 provided through the Creative Talent Award in creative writing for a total value of $4,000 in scholarship funds over four years (applicable if the authors enroll at Hollins); and a $500 scholarship to apply toward the Hollinsummer creative writing program.
The second place winners include:
“Ode to Soul(Food)s in the Deep American South
Emory Brinson
South Mecklenburg High School
Charlotte, North Carolina
“half-lives”
Emma Garrett
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida
“Intercession Prayer”
Kaylee Jeong
Jesuit High School
Portland, Oregon
“Nainai”
Isabella Jiang
Cresskill High School
Cresskill, New Jersey
“Ears (A Ghazal)”
Claire Shang
Hunter College High School
New York, New York
“Getting to Know You”
Ayana Sofia
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
New Orleans, Louisiana
