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Governor's School writer wins national poetry prize
For Immediate Release
Anna Faison of Aiken claims first place, other writers also recognized
GREENVILLE, SC - A Creative Writing student at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities has won first place in a national poetry competition.
Anna Faison, a junior from Aiken, claimed the top prize in the 2010 Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest, sponsored by Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. Faison's poem, "The Linguist", bested more than 890 entries from students in California, Michigan, New York, Texas, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, New Mexico, New Hampshire and other states.
Faision will receive a $200 cash award and free tuition to a two-week creative writing summer program at Hollins University. Her poem will be published in Cargoes, the University's student literary magazine.
Other Governor's School writers were also recognized. Emily Alverson, a junior from Roebuck, was one of six national runners up for her poem "Ben". Alverson will receive a $25 cash prize and her poem will also be published in Cargoes. Honorable Mention recognition went to Victoria Ford, a junior from Greenville, for her poem "The Things We Need", and to Tori Sharpe, a junior from Columbia, for her poems "Reading Shakespeare" and "Sea Monsters."
The Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest is for girls in grades 10 and 11. Faculty and students in the Creative Writing program at Hollins University judge the entries. The contest is named for the Hollins University class of 1960 alumna and young poet who showed great promise when she was a student. Following her death in 1962, her family established the Nancy Thorp Contest to encourage the work of young poets.
Faison is a former student of South Aiken High School. Alverson previously attended Dorman High School. Ford and Sharpe were students at Greenville High School and Dreher High School, respectively.
This is the second big win for Faison, who recently claimed first place in The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize for Young Writers. This international competition for high school sophomores and juniors is sponsored by Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Faison will receive a full scholarship to a summer 2010 session of The Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop at Kenyon College and her poem, "Han" will be published in The Kenyon Review.
Governor's School junior Megan Gallagher of Beaufort was one of two runners up in The Patricia Grodd Poetry Prize. Gallagher's poem "Clutch" will also be published in The Kenyon Review.
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