Like the Transcendentalist authors who inspire her, it was the connection to nature that drew...
They poured their hearts onto the page, and now they’ve claimed the winning prize.
Meet Cindy M., Hadley L., and Selah Brown, the incredible poets and peer reviewer who won our Poetry and Spoken Word Competition this April. From over 1300 entries, their incredible work stood out to Guest Judge Phil Kaye in the record-breaking competition for their gentle language and moving ideas.
Winner: Cindy M., 16 (United States)
1) Guest Judge Phil Kaye said that “the metaphor of the cicadas works incredibly well, without being hit too hard.” Can you reveal more about how you explore the connection between cicadas and growing up throughout your winning poem?
Of course! The buzzing of cicadas has been a consistent background noise throughout my childhood. They are loud and impossible to ignore— just like many formative moments that shape who we are today (even if we don’t realize it in the moment). Furthermore, I was drawn to how cicadas spend most of their lives underground, hidden from view, only to emerge all at once, “screaming” into the world. That felt like a powerful mirror to maturing. I hoped to convey that growing up is not always graceful, but rather, messy, uneven, and full of contradictions.
2) The use of italicization throughout your poem is meaningful and powerful. What is its significance, and how does it create an important contrast for readers?
The italicization in my poem highlights everyday phrases we see or hear. Although they carry immense emotion like anger or shame, sometimes transferred across generations, we continuously consume these phrases to a point of desensitization. By separating them visually, I wanted the reader to feel sharp emotional shifts: the frustration of being misunderstood, the shame in small moments, the tension between public instruction and private experience. I wanted to emphasize the alternate meanings of these everyday phrases that only reveal themselves with maturity.
Runner-up: Hadley L., 17 (United States)
1) Guest Judge Phil Kaye said your spoken word piece was “Well written and dynamically performed with precision and intent.” How did you balance the processes of writing and performing?
For me, I believe that the most important thing about spoken word poetry is the content of the piece itself. As a performer, it's natural to add a theatrical flair to each and every performance, but that isn't always called for with poetry. A good poem speaks for itself, and a good performer lets it. When a piece is truly personal to the performer, the words themselves will create an energy and authenticity that is non-replicable.
2) How do you think volume and velocity of speech play a role in your performance? Why do you think these elements are important in spoken word?
As someone who has watched a lot of spoken word, one of my biggest takeaways as an audience member is that just like any other story, a spoken word poem tends to follow the structure of a rising action, a climax, and a falling action. To reach the full amount of possible impact, there needs to be a sufficient build up to engage the audience and contextualize the piece. This rising action tends to be relatively slow and simple, which is what I did in my performance. This simplicity heavily contrasts with the climax, which then moves at a much faster pace. The climax is the most impactful part of the piece, and the emotional portrayal needs to reflect that. The volume and speed increases, and this is when the audience truly starts to understand the point of the piece and the rising action thus far. Dramatic pauses are an incredibly useful tool in spoken word, and really hammer in the effect of the most powerful lines of the poem. These dramatic pauses serve as both an emphasis on the climax and a transition to the falling action, which gets slower and quieter once again. This gives the audience space to process and reflect on the climax and the message of the poem as a whole. Just as bolding, italicizing, line breaks, and other formatting decisions are important in written poetry, volume, velocity, and tone are important in spoken word to direct and control the audience's attention.
Best Peer Review: Selah Brown, 14 (United States)
1) “You strive to meet the writer where they're at and work to help them realize their vision for the poem, rather than your own,” said Guest Judge Phil Kaye about your extraordinary peer review. How do you balance maintaining a writer’s voice while also providing thoughtful feedback?
One of the many great things I've learned from my creative writing instructor is to approach poems with the mindset of, "How does this make me feel?" rather than "What's working, and what's not." This way, I don't impose my creative direction on the writer. Instead, I offer them my emotional experience of the poem as a reader. From there they can decide for themselves what lines convey messages properly and which could use some more work.
2) How does providing feedback to other writers inform your own poetic style?
Giving feedback, and simply engaging with literature from other creatives has made me more aware of the infinite ways you can tell a story using poetry.
It's a great reminder that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' to write a poem. Only the way that is true to yourself and the way that isn't. After providing feedback, I often make a list of lines/styles that stood out to me. Again not in a strictly 'good' or 'bad' way, but just things I can't always see in my own poems. Creating this distance allows me to look at them through a more objective lense which is super helpful during revisions. Taking the time to give other young poets feedback is always a treat. It shows me the things I naturally gravitate towards, and reminds me that while it's not easy to turn hard truths and buried fears into something beautiful, it's absolutely worth it. That's the reason I fell in love with the power of poetry and am so grateful for the network of talented young writers on Write the World.
