Solano Teen Writing Contest Winner!

LastOctober, the Solano County Library held its annual writing contests. The teenager division for Teentober—a month dedicated to the participation of teenagers in libraries year-round—was open for anyone between the ages of 12-18. Within this division, there were three winners for each of the three categories: short story, essay, and poetry. One of these winners, Diya Patel, is a junior at Armijo High School.

Patel won the poetry category using a poem she had written for an English assignment. “We had to do a Fall Poetry Slam,” she said, “and so our teacher just wanted us to write a one-minute poem about anything.” Patel wrote about a topic very important to her.

The day of the poetry slam, the teacher mentioned the contest and the option of entering. “So I was like, why not enter? It doesn’t hurt to try. Who knows, I might win,” said Patel. Even without the competitive intention, the idea caught. “I just did it for the fun of it.”

If anything works to inspire creativity, it’s having fun, a point proven here. The rhyme scheme and the message that she explored were Patel’sproudest points. The prize for her poem, titled “Plastic Pollution,” was an email from the library and a gift card. All in a day’s job for a young, environmentally-conscious writer.