[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ae LeDee, currently a rising junior, wrote a letter to poet Jane Hirshfield about her poem, “Three Foxes by the Edge of the Field at Twilight” in his sophomore English class. The letter, which you can read here https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/dear-jane-hirshfield-jae, was selected by The Academy of American Poets’ for publication on their website.

The Academy is a prestigious organization in the world of poetry. Mrs. Forster, Jae’s sophomore English teacher, submitted Jae’s response to the Academy’s “Dear Poet” project in April along with 60 other responses from Kinkaid. Besides Jae, among the 60 submitted pieces from Kinkaid, Samantha Wood and Culley Harper, also students of Ms. Forester, were honored with honorable mention and publication on the site, respectively.

The Dear Poet Project was created by the Academy of American Poets as a part of the National Poetry month in 2016. and Ms. Forester introduced the project to her class as an opportunity for her students to explore poetry in a more “fun-yet-vigorous way.” The project allowed young people from middle to high school to write letters to famous poets in response to their works. The response letters were judged for publication by the poets who serve on the American Poets Board of Chancellors.

Of the 130 letters submitted from around the country and the 60 from Kinkaid, Jae’s was one of the few responses selected for publication on the site. Congratulations to Jae for his accomplishment!