Boardman Students Place in Blackout Poetry Contest

BOARDMAN, Ohio – The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County held a blackout poetry contest this spring, and two Boardman High School students placed in the top three spots.

Sophomore Nina Tran won first place and received a certificate and a $50 check, and sophomore Abiha Khan won third place and received a certificate and a $25 check. 

Blackout poetry is a type of poetry where blocks of text from pages of a newspaper, magazine or book are blacked out to highlight the remaining words that create a poem. 

The library has been sponsoring the contest for 13 years.

Librarian Amy Burkard says they received more than 550 thought-provoking entries from across Mahoning County.

“We always say they [the students] can be as creative as they want, and this year we have received some gorgeous pieces of art to go with their poems,” Burkard said. “They were truly impressive.”

Burkard visited Boardman High School on May 31 to deliver two of the top three prizes to Tran and Khan. 

Pictured at top: From left are Amy Burkard, librarian at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County; Boardman High School students Nina Tran and Abiha Khan; and Jenefer Basista, Honors English teacher.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.