“For people who feel alone, I hope this helps.”
SAN MARCOS — Adelie Donovan entered the Hays County Youth Poet Laureate competition after experiencing a bout of boredom. Weeks later, she recalled the shocked face of her peers as her yelps of happiness filled the Hays High School library, following an email that she had been named the Hays County Youth Poet Laureate.
“A lot of people think that most poets just knew it their whole life — that they were supposed to be a poet — but I kind of just stumbled on it accidentally,” said Donovan.
The 16-year-old’s passion is art, she said, such as drawing or painting with watercolors, but she was introduced to the competition by her mother. Donovan explained that she thought the competition was to write an original novel, though she quickly realized it was poetry upon attending a workshop hosted by SG Hauerta and Juania Sueños.
The two are part of Infrarrealista Review, which was founded in 2020 by Cloud D. Cardona and Sueños to highlight underrepresented Texan voices through the Hays County Youth Poet Laureate, as previously reported by the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch.
The workshop focused on aiding the students in the application process and provided prompts for potential poems, said Donovan. Participants were required to submit 15-35 pages of poetry, a cover letter, a brief biography and a statement of purpose by Nov. 30, 2024, to enter the Hays County Youth Poet Laureate competition.
“A lot of the poets say, ‘Oh, this poem took me eight months.’ I’m going to be completely honest, all of these poems took me no more than 10 minutes,” said the Donovan. “I’ve been trying to write poetry for so long, but I think the workshop that I did … it really helped to bring that out.”
Not only was she able to revel in creativity during the process, but the competition gave her a healthy outlet to express her emotions.
“It was supposed to be about yourself, which is all I really write about … [So], it’s a lot about growing up, childhood trauma; it just had a lot of themes of home and what that means to me and just a lot about my childhood and who I am,” Donovan said.
These personal themes are explored in one of her favorite pieces, “respite,” which uses food to describe the safety she feels at one of her most frequented facilities: The Hill County Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Youth Crisis Respite Center.
“It’s a place for kids who just need a break and I’ve gone there a couple times, because I have issues, and it’s about the people who were there. So, it’s mainly for Ms. Olivia, Ms. Cyn and Ms. Debbie, everyone who was there who helped me so much,” Donovan emphasized.
“Fettuccine alfredo
I’m laughing,
I can’t stop
That deep laugh
From my belly.
Kind,
Understanding,
Ms. Olivia.
She looks at me,
There’s no pity.
For once,
I’m not being looked at like
A dead dog.”
- An excerpt from “respite”
In response to individuals questioning her experiences or how much trauma she could really have at the young age of 16, she noted that this is exactly why poetry is important: “That is a thing that’s awesome about poetry, that you can do it to help people understand through your writing … [In my] dedication, I put, ‘For people who feel alone, I hope this helps.’ I don’t really care who gets it, but as long as I at least got to one person who felt misunderstood or felt like no one understood and I helped them, that’s all that matters.”
The moment that Donovan was notified that she won was not only joyous, but also stressful, she said, laughing as she reminisced on the moment. According to the high schooler, she was in the library when her mother texted her, “You won.” Instantly filled with uncontainable excitement, she began screaming in the library room, but paused when she was unable to find the email. “Are you sure I won?” she pressed her mom. A few, long moments later, she located the email and resumed her celebration.
The organization awarded Donovan with $1,000 and the publication of her book through Plancha Press, titled “Epitaph for My Fireflies,” which is a combination of quotes from “Epitaph for my Heart” by the Magnetic Fields and “Fireflies Made Out of Dust” by Happy Jawbone Family Band.
According to the publisher, Donovan’s book “is a collection of memories that document both the light and the dark moments of adolescence. Donovan dives into descriptions of childhood, first loves, abuse, and family trauma.”
“It just means to me that somebody thinks my work is good enough. That’s all it really is about,” she said. “It makes me feel like I am worth something; I can write and help people feel less alone and I have a purpose.”
The celebration occurred March 21 at the Price Center & Garden in San Marcos and featured a book signing for “Epitaph for My Fireflies” and the reading of Gavin Burrows — another contestant — and Donovan’s poetry, along with the 2024 Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston.
“My favorite part of [poetry] is just seeing how it affects other people. My auntie, she came to my ceremony and she was crying and my grandparents were crying and I don’t like that they’re crying, obviously, but I like how much emotion it brings out in people to read this,” Donovan said.
The fulfillment she receives from helping people is something she hopes to continue in her future, though not in poetry, instead the student hopes to become a nurse.
Donovan encourages her fellow peers to apply to be next year’s Hays County Youth Poet Laureate: “Even, say, you didn’t win, you tried and that’s honestly the best you can do … If you want to do this program, to the people out there, you totally should. Even if you don’t win, it’s a lot of good experience and a lot of good knowledge on poetry. It’s not just, ‘Oh, I want to win. That’s why I'm going to do this.’ It’s more, ‘I’m gaining knowledge. I’m getting perspective from even other amazing poets.’”
To purchase Donovan’s poetry book, “Epitaph for My Fireflies,” visit bit.ly/44gWMzN.
