The Literary Fair tradition has been passed down through Charter history. This competition compares literary works from all over the county, including poems and short stories. Many Charter students have participated in this event, but only a selected few have been recognized. Taking 3rd place in the Parody Poem category and 2nd runner up in the Poet Laureate competition was Ria Dave. For her parody poem, she used Dolly Parton’s song Jolene; however, with her twist she made it seem as if Jolene was an alien. She states, “I honestly didn’t think it was going to win at school, much less place at county[;] it just seemed really goofy[,] and I wanted to perform my parody at the poetry slam.” It only took her about two hours to complete her award winning piece. Ria Dave stated, “Parodies are a little easier to write than original poems because all of the rhyme and meter is already there, you just have to change the words. Which isn’t to say it’s easy, because you only have so many words and you have to make them count.” She was able to contort the poem into a completely different meaning giving it new life. 

  As for other Charter winners, senior Adrian Luis took second place in the Sestina category, which is a six line poem. Mya Saint- Louis took first place in the Personal Narrative category. Jena Manning also took first place in the Spoken Word category. Christina Copeland placed first in the Poet Laureate competition. In the Short Story Category Brianna de la Paz was able to place third. Originally, Brianna didn’t plan on entering her short story into the competition. She states, “It was only until Ms. [Sarah] Phelps encouraged me into submitting it into the Literary Fair that I began to take my piece seriously. It was maybe twice a week I would go in and edit it here and there, but that was only because I’m a firm believer that everything you write can always be improved!”  Her story is “written from a male perspective and given a very “royal family drama-[esque]” feel — “both things that I had never tried writing before.” With time and effort she was able to transform her piece into a story that is thrilling and enjoyable for everyone to read. Our Charter family is immensely proud of the achievements these students were able to reach. Their dedication and tenacity have made them into literary machines, and they all will go far in their careers.