Whittier Primary School students recognized in statewide poetry contest

Peoria's Whittier Primary School is sowing the seeds for many young award-winning poets.

The school had one student win and one receive an honorable mention in the statewide Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards, an annual competition for K-12 students. This year's awards had 988 submissions, the most ever.

Antonio Galindo, 8, was one of two second-grade winners. His poem was titled, “Ode to a Library,” and he said the idea came to him almost immediately.

“When I heard about this poem thing, I thought automatically: poem, books,” he said.

Antonio is not the only poet at the school. Clara Locke, also 8, received an honorable mention in the same category for her poem, “Day at the Beach.”

“The reason I wrote my poem was because my grandma, who had surgery on her lungs and liver, loved the beach, so I wrote about the beach to remind me of her,” she said.

Harper Causley also drew inspiration from family. She received an honorable mention from the competition in 2022.

“I wrote my poem because I really like my sister, and she's the only sister I have,” said 8-year-old Harper.

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View the full list of winners