Gabriel Hirsch Award

GABRIEL HIRSCH POETRY AND ART AWARD

The Gabriel Hirsch poetry and art projects are highly anticipated annual events at Little Keswick School. This year’s theme was “Our Stories,” reflecting the theme chosen for the academic year. The 2019-2020 school year turned each of our stories – each of our lives – upside down. Our story as a school had to be rewritten, and students were not able to convene on campus for the typical art and poetry instruction last spring. Our individual stories, though, persisted as threads that could still be woven together as we connected virtually. Staff, students, and families continued building identity through relationships, shared experience, and reflection. Despite the upheaval, we were able to weave the singular stories of individuals into our community tapestry. The Gabriel Hirsch Poetry Award was able to recognize the power of a single artistic perspective to reach into the hearts of those both near and far away. Gabriel Hirsch, like many students who attend Little Keswick School, worked to learn how to communicate the feelings he experienced. He embraced the power of the written word and artistic expression as vessels through which to share himself with the community and, eventually, the world. Through this award and grant, students have the opportunity to find and use their unique voices, express themselves through the poetry and art they create, and have further opportunities to learn about, experience, and develop their own love of poetry and art. Gabriel’s legacy continues to impact Little Keswick School students. Due to the limitations presented by remote learning, there was no community art project this year. We were able to provide virtual instruction in reading and writing poetry, however, and students were invited to write and submit original works for the annual poetry contest. Despite this year’s unique conditions of poetry instruction, writing, and workshopping, over a dozen original poems were submitted. Aryan earned an honorable mention for his poem, “Where I’m From.” The winning poem for 2019-2020 was “The Spice of Life,” by Brett. Jimmy Green, Brett’s teacher, read his poem during our live-streamed transition ceremony on June 12 in front of a socially distanced live audience of staff who were on campus. Every year, the audience applauds after the winning poem is read. This year, however, the audience was moved to remain silent as it processed both the emotions Brett communicated and the emotions his poem evoked in them. This powerful moment served as a fitting capstone for a remarkable year.