The Community Room in the Ojai Library fell silent as OVS junior Hannah Little walked up, set her papers on the waist-high stand and began reading.
Hannah, the 2021 winner of the Judith Oberlander Poetry Award, recently had a poetry reading at the Ojai branch of the Ventura County Library with an audience of writers, poets, and avid readers from around Ventura county.
Crystal Davis, Ojai Valley School English teacher and head of student life at the Upper Campus, founded the Ojai Poetry Series five years ago to bring light to small writers in Ojai inside of Ventura County.
Mrs. Davis over the past two years has invited aspiring student poets from OVS to come read at the poetry series.
Hannah read two series of poems, one detailing the effects of Covid on the lives and mental health of children and teens, and another on her emotional transformation on her trip to Alaska over the summer.
Though she is only 16 years old, the many older and more experienced writers described her poetry as “relatable” and “inspiring” despite her young age.
“She read a lot better than many of the older, more experienced readers.” Mrs. Davis said, “Her cadence, and her poise, and the authenticity of her voice I thought were very impressive. And so did many of the people who were listening there.”
Hannah loves reading her poetry almost as much as people love hearing it.
“That was my first time reading to an audience outside of school and I had an amazing time. Having people hear my poetry and enjoy it makes me very happy.” Hannah said, “I hope to read my poetry at more readings soon.”
Lockdown
After a while the grace period ended
Numbers were rising
And the lives lost soon became overwhelming
Pandemic
The word pandemic began to sink into us as we sunk into lockdown
The luxurious food we once reached for became a coping method
Social media and social distancing became one
Our only form of communication
Kids who once hated leaving their rooms pined for companionship outside of their gaming console
Sweatpants soon became claustrophobic
Stuck to our skin like glue
The feeling of freedom soon became sadness
Our couches sucked our bodies down into the cushions
The cushions of isolation suffocated us
First breath
Babies born in this unfamiliar time
Slip into existence
Breathing the air everyone fears
Fresh eyes open to see their parents for the first time
Their eyebrows raised into loving excitement
Eyes beaming
But that is all the child can see
Smiles hidden
People hidden behind the masks
Children cry in daycare
Feeling as though some horrible thing has ripped them from their families
In reality
A rhythm or normalcy has set back into place
Normalcy children born in the Pandemic
Have no recollection of