Introducing the winners of the 2023 Tom Lee Poetry Contest
The winners of the second annual Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Contest are:
- Ana Hunter (Hutchison High School) — The River Cries
- Riley Hancock (Crosstown High) — Facsimile
- Guadalupe Moctezuma Gatica (Central High School) — Corazon de Caracol
The poetry contest invites students in any Shelby County high school to create work inspired by the courageous and selfless actions of Memphis hero, Tom Lee. The submissions are evaluated and winners selected by a panel of reviewers led by award-winning poet and University of Memphis professor, Marcus Wicker. Winning students and their teachers are honored at the annual Tom Lee Day celebration.
Ana Hunter’s first place poem, The River Cries, recasts Tom Lee’s heroic rescue from the point of view of a child walking hand in hand with her mother. In Ana’s words, the poem characterizes the boat’s capsizing and the awe of a little black girl watching Tom Lee save lives, at a time when many would not think to save people historically known for persecuting them.
Professor Wicker recounts Ana’s work as “captivating and [her] polished performance of the piece suspends time.” Read the captivating poem or watch the performance.
Ana is an award-winning scholastic poet, whose work has been recognized by the Scholastic Alliance for Young Writers and the University of Memphis Language Fair. In her free time, she enjoys playing and designing video games or immersing herself in creative writing. Ana is a member of the varsity golf team and co-founder of the Society of Women Engineers Next Club at Hutchison School.
Riley (“Rye”) Hancock, Crosstown High junior, earned the second-place prize with Facsimile, “a uniquely phrased, ambitious and introspective self-portrait poem with a science fiction twist.” Read the unique work here.
Rye’s father, a former poet, introduced her to poetry and is her motivation for writing today. The winning piece, Facsimile, is inspired by the symptoms of her autism. She has received a Scholastic Silver key for her previous work. Rye enjoys music and using her creative writing skills to prepare D&D campaigns.
Guadalupe Moctezuma Gatica, a sophomore at Central High School, earned third place for her bilingual ode, Corazon de Caracol or Heart of a Snail. Professor Wicker “admires [her] poem because it reminds us that peace, like sleep, is best achieved through a tranquil heart.” Read the lovely ode here.
Guadalupe was born and raised in Guerrero, Mexico — a place full of magical and beautiful tradition. She has learned how to play different instruments including the drum, violin, flute and piano. Heart of a Snail and other poems written by Guadalupe, are dedicated to someone special who has given her the motivation and inspiration to write.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Contest. Thank you to their teachers, Ms. Savannah McCausland, Ms. Elizabet Coleman and Ms. Rosalind Guy, for encouraging their students to write moving work guided by the story of Tom Lee.
The Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word contest is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.
