Submissions for Poetry are open to one poem that was completed for coursework during the last calendar year. Submissions should not exceed 5 pages. Jemma Taylor wrote the 1st place submission in the Poetry Category for the 2026 President’s Writing Awards.
About Jemma
Jemma Taylor is an artist, writer, and self-proclaimed award-winning dorm chef. She’s graduating in Fall 2026 with her BA in Creative Writing and minor in Visual Art. When she’s not working towards her degree, she’s DMing for her D&D campaign or preparing lessons for her ESL students. She also invented the egg sandwich.
Winning Manuscript – hunt log
the year’s genesis is bundled in nylon along people
you varying-degrees-of know.
your old lab partner who borders on beautiful,
the twins and their girlfriends, the guy with the weed-mom.
keys sink in your pocket.
coats press on all sides.
your friend makes a fuss about being the only single one,
so you kiss her first.
misfire. your lab partner next.
you only get to three before they’re all sober and shivers.
try aiming next year, sister—cheek to stock weld,
sling through your friend’s arm. she’s
the hunter, not you, and she doesn’t keep track.
the deer stop becoming one, two,
three when you’ve seen so many.
she showed you a carcass once
and you bit down bile. that week, you
saw a whitetail and pictured
its drool on the highway. one, two.
you carve three notches in your mind for the night:
one mouth, two forehead.
upland, winter.