Five students from Oswego have received recognition in the 2026 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards, part of Illinois Humanities’ annual poetry competition for students in grades K-12. The honorees include:
Read More
- Aisha Hashmi – Seventh grade winner for "Desi Girl In a American World."
- Holiday Boldon – Seventh grade honorable mention for "Ode to Garbage."
- Vaishnavi Manchala – Ninth grade honorable mention for "Say it Again."
- Leonidas Leigh – Eleventh grade honorable mention for "footnotes."
- Ainsley Laos – Twelfth grade winner for "The Flip of a Coin."
These students were among 39 poets who were awarded or received honorable mentions from a record 1,063 submissions representing 186 schools across Illinois. Margy LaFreniere, program manager of teaching and learning at Illinois Humanities, emphasized the significance of listening to young voices, stating, "Their poems are thoughtful, imaginative, and deeply personal, and they remind us why creating opportunities for young writers is so important."
The Youth Poetry Awards were established in 1969 by Gwendolyn Brooks while she served as Illinois Poet Laureate. Brooks, a lifelong resident of Chicago and an influential 20th-century American poet, inspired the awards to encourage budding writers in the state. The nonprofit Illinois Humanities revived the awards in 2017, continuing her legacy.
A ceremony to honor the students will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on September 19 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago. For more details about the awards and the 2026 winners, visit ilhumanities.org/events/2026-poetry-ceremony.