STONINGTON, Conn. – Last month, Fitch High School sophomore Helen Miller traveled to the La Grua Center as part of her award for being the school’s chosen Poet Laureate.
The Poet Laureate is an annual contest hosted by the school’s long-running student literary magazine, Amphora. Every student who wished to participate was told to submit three poems. The winner was determined by the Amphora staff, which currently has around 12 members.
The contest winner was awarded $100, a reading at the La Grua Center, a poetry workshop, and a celebratory dinner.
Miller placed second last year as a freshman. The Falcon Press and Amphora interviewed her about her experience with writing and specifics on her winning poems.
According to Miller, pride and stress are often inspirations for her when writing.
“It’s often a combination,” she said. “It helps me with argumentative writing or slam poetry, but I like the feel of writing more structured.”
Miller stated that in the future, she would like to write with more structure, although it is challenging at times.
“When I force myself to write within a structure, it sounds like a third grader made it,” she stated. “That’s why we were blessed with a backspace button.”
Despite her honor, Miller’s writing is not limited to poetry alone.
“I prefer argumentative writing because it’s something that I think I want to pursue in the future. I like the feeling of fighting against something, not really seriously, but in a satisfactory way.”
The Amphora magazine will be released towards the end of the school year and will feature all poems submitted to the contest.
