Claudia Ann Seaman Award
A History of the United States of America
Esther Sun
Los Gatos, CA
Los Gatos High School
Poetry
Several days ago I walked by vultures
on the neighbor’s grass. One standing
sentry high above in the thin branches
of winter’s skinned tree. One eating
a dead mouse on the lawn. A day later,
it was there again — this time having dragged
the corpse halfway into the neighbor’s driveway.
I saw the mouse’s spine:
red and curved against the ground, glowing
pale in blue December. I saw its head, still
intact. I had to look away.
EDITORIAL PRAISE
An unorthodox account of the history of the United States. But it’s still history—a history that cannot be concealed, demands to be heard. This one will fill you with unease and worry you from start to finish.
Esther Sun is a Chinese-American writer from the Silicon Valley and will graduate in 2021 from Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, CA. A 2020 American Voices nominee, she has been recognized for her writing by Bennington College, the National YoungArts Foundation, and the Alliance for Young Writers and Artists. Esther’s poems are forthcoming, or have appeared in, Carve Magazine, Birdcoat Quarterly, The Indianapolis Review, and more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR