New York skyscrapers are far from the sky-scraping Smoky Mountains, and in combining our stories, we shared our fierce pride for our homes and the inherent poetry there is in growing up in these places.
Where We’re From
Erasure & Found Poetry
<8 year old>
A poem about witnesses who have kept their mouths shut.
All the girls,
I wrote this piece about growing up and being surrounded by other girls based on my notes app.
The Corpse
The Corpse is a found poem based off of the Metamorphosis.
Matched With A Click
‘Matched With A Click’ is a zine on the theme of online dating, with original poems, photography, artwork and elements of memoir and interview.
Mixed Media Poems
How often do you get to read poetry from the brain of a real teen? Everyone reads young adult books, but they’re written by adults so here’s your chance to read poetry from a teen, expressing themself. My work is inspired by prompts given to me by mentors or random thoughts and questions I have about life.
Scars
Acne is not permanent; it will go away eventually. But there are also scars that can’t go away—they stay with you forever. In my piece, I decided to elaborate on this concept by explaining that not all scars can disappear, but we have the opportunity to embrace them, love ourselves for who we are as human beings, and not let society dictate our beauty.
Both Sides of the Moon
This pair of cento poems was crafted out of song lyrics, news articles and poetry, reflecting the moods of dark and light. Which one is sinister and which one is hopeful? Or maybe each has a little bit of dark and light…
the body: an examination
This poem comes from a page of “The Power to be Affected,” a philosophy essay by Michael Hardt. It is a work that first resonated with me at age 14.
Erasures of ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ & ‘Lift Every Voice’
These pieces are erasures of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the national black anthem. My mentor gave me prompts to erase both of them, side by side, after noticing the differences between them.
Armed Allegiance
My erasure poem “Armed Allegiance” represents the immigrant experience. I moved from Mexico to America when I was young, and I know how hard it is to adapt to a new place. The Naturalization Oath is important to me because it reflects the sacrifices my parents made to give me more opportunities in life. I know many undocumented immigrants dream of becoming U.S. citizens and see it as the ultimate achievement. I also wanted this poem to convey how important it is for me to make my parents proud and show them that their hard work was worth it.
Girl (The Beatles)
This poem is meant to take you on a relatable musical journey. The songs were chosen based on my feelings sometimes, but they are mostly a reflection of a made-up character (loosely based on Napoleon Dynamite).
Anatomy 125
This erasure poem is a visual representation of my own writing process. You can see the crossing out of words as well as the words I had to write back in. Sharing any kind of writing is an innately intimate experience, but this specifically feels personal for the way that it displays my mistakes as well as the final project.
A Text
A Text By Isabel Golightly My project is a poem that comments on the current administration in a complex and meaningful way. By having the opportunity through erasure poetry to…
Simple Separate Person
My project is a blackout poetry piece using Walt Whitman’s poem “One’s Self I Sing.” I am a poetry aficionado, so this piece is the perfect marriage between my existing love of writing and my newfound interest in the digital sphere.