Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Amanda Gorman and Sappho. All were young women poets, who in their respective eras, impacted the spirit and culture of the time. Each became well-known for their poetic contributions, and for moving hearts and minds with their words. To any follower of poetic history, their life stories and writings are great sagas.
Did you know that right here in Granby we have a young woman who perhaps someday could join the ranks of these famous youthful poets? Yes, thirteen-year-old Emily Pape of North Granby recently submitted one of her poems to Cricket Magazine’s poetry contest. Her poem about witnessing a solar eclipse won first prize in February, selected from thousands of applicants from all over the world!
I had the opportunity to meet with Emily and her family to talk about Emily’s poem, the contest and the process that led to her submission to the competition. Cricket Magazine is a publication for teens that has circulation across the globe. It holds contests for poetry and writing on a frequent basis. Last summer, Emily had the opportunity to view the solar eclipse and like many who witnessed it, was struck by the overwhelming wonder of this rare cosmic event.
When Cricket Magazine challenged its readers to write something “Out of This World” for its February issue, Emily decided to put pen to poetry with a poem titled simply, A Solar Eclipse. To her surprise and thrill, the poem was awarded first prize and Emily will be recognized by Cricket for her introspective thoughts describing the impact of the eclipse. With Emily’s permission, we are publishing it in the Drummer. It will appear in the Cricket League section of the May/June 2025 issue and can be found at cricketmagkids.com/contests
Emily’s parents, Philip and Karen, and Emily’s sister Clara sat with Emily and me as we talked about the poem and how it came to be written. Emily loves English and nature and is inspired by Emily Dickinson. It seems logical that a solar eclipse would move her to write a poem about it, and so she did. Emily and her family were surprised and honored to learn that she had been awarded first prize, and they were simultaneously humbled and very proud of her accomplishment.
We asked Emily if she writes other poems or might devote more time to poetry in the future. She has written several poems and spends time writing prose and poetry when she can, fitting it in between her volunteer job at the town library, studying ballet, being secretary for the local 4-H chapter and, of course, taking care of her pets with her sister.
One thing is clear: With the support of her family and community, Emily can be proud of her efforts, and Granby can be proud to have a winning poet right here in town. Congratulations to Emily and the Pape family!
A SOLAR ECLIPSE
By Emily Pape
A gold and scarlet sun
In the periwinkle sky,
A normal day, until —-
What’s that? A splotch,
A smudge of black
Against the yellow sun
Flowing, continuing,
Taking up the sky.
Until it’s dark,
The air is still,
Like it’s holding
Its breath.
Then all at once —
Flowing, writhing, exploding
Blue around the
Gaping hole
Where the sun was.
Then all at once —
What’s that? A splotch,
A smudge of gold —
And the sun is back.