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Danbury Teen Poet's Imagery Nabs Silver Medal In National Contest

DANBURY, Conn. -- Danbury High School senior Anna Strosser sees the world through her poetry, and was recently recognized with a silver medal in a national contest.

Danbury High School senior Anna Strosser won a silver medal for her poem "Nose Dive" from Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.


Anna Strosser

Danbury High School senior Anna Strosser won a silver medal for her poem "Nose Dive" from Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Anna Strosser

Photo Credit: Danbury Public Schools

Strosser's "Nose Dive" won in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The competition received 330,000 submissions from students across the country in 29 categories. Strosser's award will be given at a ceremony in June at famed Carnegie Hall in New York City.

"Nose Dive" is "imagery-heavy," the student said. In “Nose Dive,” the speaker realizes that her partner is using her to escape reality, and she needs to move on. 

"I’m usually more direct. Imagery takes more thought. I’m proud of this one and happy they were able to understand it," said Strosser.

Last year she won first place in a poetry contest held by the Danbury Cultural Commission.  Strosser's poems have been published in “Teen Ink” magazine and she is co-editor of “The Nutmegger,” the DHS literary magazine. She plans to major in economics with a minor in creative writing next fall in college.

For her writing she travels to Westchester to Writopia Lab, a writing program that sponsors, in part, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. 

Each year the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are presented to students in grades 7 through 12 from across the country. This year 431 of 1,920 writing submissions were awarded gold and silver keys and honorable mentions. Strosser’s poem earned a gold key before moving on to the national competition. Strosser also received a gold key for her poem, “My Days With You and Crystal Voodoo" in the contest.

Strosser said she gets her inspiration from situations, and she reads a lot. Her poems are usually derived from her own experiences. 

“It’s all really personal,” she said. 

Because poetry uses precise, condensed language, she said she has learned how to choose words carefully. 

“It’s a thought process. It’s so engrained that it’s a matter of thinking.” 

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