Jonathan Harvey, at left, and Eric Lee, at right, were recognized in Huntsville Literary Association’s Young Writers Contest. Harvey and Lee are in Ambra Johnson’s creative writing class at Liberty Middle School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Creative writing students Eric Lee and Jonathan Harvey at Liberty Middle School were recognized in Huntsville Literary Association’s 47th annual Young Writers Contest.

Lee’s Poem, “Rain in the City,” earned third place. Harvey’s poem, “Rollercoaster,” received honorable mention. The contest was open to any student in public, private and home schools in Madison County.

Hundreds of students submitted work to the contest. “All students work so hard on their pieces. I’m thrilled their hard work is acknowledged by someone outside the four walls of our classroom,” Liberty creative writing teacher Ambra C. Johnson said.

Lee and Harvey enrolled in creative writing, a new elective open to Madison seventh- and eighth-graders.

Harvey “writes short stuff about topics. I like free verse and haiku. I don’t like rhyme-scheme poems because they’re too hard.”

In “Rollercoaster,” Harvey wrote, “I can feel the sun, beating on my neck. Sweat gliding through my greasy hair. The lines were like a parade of ants, marching towards food, almost there.”

Poetry interests Lee because “it is like flying out of a cage. You can write freely about anything. Grammar doesn’t affect what you write or how you write.”

“Poetry is hard when you don’t know what words to use. Poetry is all about description … to describe everything, even to its slightest detail,” Lee said. “Poetry is a way to escape prose. It’s a joy in writing.”

In choosing poetry topics, Lee considers “the sound of rain, the smell of rain, the view of rain. Rain relieves stress and makes me forget the burden of the world.”

In “Rain in the City,” Lee wrote, “Suddenly, a trickle on my head — then several more. Tap. Tap. Tap. The raindrop greets me with a sad smile as it helplessly hits the sidewalk behind me.”

Jonathan’s parents are Paul and Randa Harvey. Lee’s parents are Jongbok Lee and Hyunkyang Cho.

For more information, visit hlahsv.org.