Ballard teen honored as youth writer-in-residence

With a passion for writing, Ballard High School senior Katie Carr will spend the rest of the school year honing her writing skills. Carr is one of two students selected as a youth writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House. Carr first discovered her love of language at the age of four and wrote her first poem, “Emphysema” at the age of seven.

As a youth writers-in-residence, Carr will spend the next seven months developing her own writing, expanding her leadership skills and building awareness of the Hugo House. At the end of her residency, she will publish her own book and read from it during an event in June.

This is one of Carr’s poems sent to us by the Hugo House:

Morning Woes

I made my escape
somewhere between
sliced apples and toasted bread
somewhere between
opening the fridge
and discovering spoiled milk
reaching around the coin bin
and finding an inadequate 20 cents.

-Katie Carr

Not only is Carr a talented writer, she also plays violin in the BHS Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra and sings in the Women’s Chamber Choir.

The Hugo House youth writer-in-residency is open to high-school students in grades 10 through 12 with a passion for writing and a talent for mentoring their peers. Residencies run from October through June.