Congratulations to LHS Junior, Jake Kotzman, for being named a Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Medalist!
Lansing High School Junior, John "Jake" Kotzman, has received a Gold Key Award for a poem he submitted to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards earlier this school year. His award winning piece is titled "The Ugly Duckling Fractured Fairy Tale." Jake had written his poem in Mr. Robinson's (formerly McCord) Creative Writing class. The assignment was to writing a fractured fairytale, so Jake chose to write a poem based on the story "The Ugly Duckling".
When asked about what inspired the poem, Jake said, “I’ve always thought the moral of the story was one day you’ll be beautiful, when it should be, you are beautiful.”
Jake heard about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards through Lansing High School's National English Honors Society and decided to submit his piece. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognizes "young artists and writers, filmmakers and photographers, poets and sculptors, video game artists and science fiction writers" and are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. The Alliance's mission is "to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards." For more information about the program, click here.
Jake joins notable Scholastic Award winners such as Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. Each of these notable artists won Scholastic Awards when they were teens.
Since Jake's poem received a "Gold Key" Award at the regional level, it will automatically be advanced to the national level of judging in New York City. National Medalists will be announced on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
When asked what Jake's plans are after high school, he said he wasn't sure what his future holds.
"I flew a plane last year at K-State and have thought a lot about their Pilot Program, but I love animating, writing, art and video editing too. I have made a lot of videos for 'The Roar' this year, which has been fun.
Scroll down to read Jake's piece, "The Ugly Duckling Fractured Fairy Tale," in its entirety.
The Ugly Duckling Fractured Fairy Tale
Original Story Written by Hans-Christian Andersen
Fractured Fairy Tale by Jake Kotzman
Total darkness was all I could see,
I pecked and I pecked to try and break free,
A shimmer of light, and then soon a beam,
I would experience a new life it would seem.
The sun, the clouds, the air and the grass
I was finally free, at long, long last.
I saw one duckling, two ducklings, three ducklings, four,
Everywhere I looked there seemed to be more.
Above me was my mother,
and all around me my brothers.
I had waited, such a long while,
All I could do was quack and smile.
But soon enough my smile had shifted to a frown,
When one duck quacked, “It's so hideous! Put it down!”
They laughed, they pointed, they insulted all day,
The pain that I felt, I was full of dismay.
Even my own mother hid me away,
So I decided to leave that very day.
So come what may, even if I’m a stray, I will be okay with this shameful display, if I go somewhere that is far, far away!
Away from these toxic birds of prey, that do nothing to me except betray, today is the day that I go away!
I swam and I swam,
I stumbled to a dam.
My journey hit a blockade,
Was it a mistake I made?
“Who are you, and where did you come from?”
A goose kindly asked, “And why so glum?”
I ran away from home, I was ridiculed for being so ugly.
“But that’s ridiculous, you’re no less beautiful than any other bird I see.”
For once I had happiness coursing through my veins,
But what if the kindly goose just had scrambled brains?
“You can stay with us for as long as you need!”
I nodded my head and happily agreed.
.
I lived with the geese for almost a year,
This small little pond, it was paradise here.
They treated me like I was one of their own,
I was finally accepted, it felt like home.
One day, the sounds of cannons, blasted through the sky,
It seemed as if my life would be kissed goodbye.
I waddled through the forest as fast as I could,
I had to stay low, or I’d be cooked over wood.
I managed to escape, but all alone again,
Hopeless and homeless, solo I would fend.
The next morning I waddled through the forest, sad and stressed,
When I saw the most beautiful creature ever, was it a goddess?
“What are you doing down here? The other Muscovy ducks are at the lake!”
Was this gorgeous creature talking to me, or was I not really awake?
I looked down in a puddle, and I looked the same as before,
But I looked exactly like her, how is that possible? Not sure!
Surely if I look like her and find her beautiful, I must be beautiful too.
“Well are you just going to stand there? Come on you!”
“Do you think I’m ugly?” I asked hoping my heart wouldn’t sink,
“I think you’re quite handsome, but why would it matter what I think?”
I followed her waddling excitedly through all the trees.
When we made it through, I could swear I saw thousands of me’s.
I lived there with the other Muscovy ducks happily for the rest of my life,
The first Muscovy duck I met became my true love and wife.
So no, I never became a beautiful swan,
But I realise now that my looks were never wrong.
My beautiful wife rested her head on my shoulder,
She had taught me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.