Hollins University’s 59th Annual Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest has awarded its top prize to a student from Ohio.
Liyanjin Zhu of Dublin Jerome High School in Dublin, Ohio, won first place for her poem, “Helen of Troy Puts the World in Her Back Pocket.” She will receive a $350 cash prize; publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ award-winning literary magazine; ten copies of the magazine; 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 students earned second-place honors in this year’s contest. Each student will receive publication in Cargoes; two copies of the magazine; 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 they enroll at Hollins); and a $500 scholarship to apply toward Hollinsummer.
The second-place winners include:
Sophia DeMoe
Novato High School, Novato, California
“mother tongue”
Claire He
Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana
“seasoning for the loss of youth”
Isabelle Li
Laurel Springs School, Sunnyvale, California
“two glasses at the summerhouse”
Emily Pedroza
Lynbrook High School, San Jose, California
“The constellations sank”
Anna Castro Spratt
Fine Arts Center, Greenville, South Carolina
“I Translated from the Bean Broth”
Audie Waller
South Carolina Governors School for Arts and Humanities, Greenville, South Carolina
“Hound”
The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest awards prizes for the best poems submitted by young women who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school or are homeschooled. This year, 549 contestants from 41 states, the District of Columbia, and five countries outside the U.S. entered works for consideration. In addition to the seven first- and second-place recipients, 50 students received honorable mention for their submissions.
Nancy Thorp, a member of Hollins’ class of 1960, was a young poet who showed great promise when she was a student. Following her death in 1962, her family established the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest to encourage the work of young poets.
