Matthias named national finalist in poster contest

ROACHDALE -- Continuing a line of success in the art department at North Putnam High School, another Putnam County art student has been recognized at the national level.

Junior Curtis Matthias was recently honored as a national finalist for his poster celebrating National Poetry Month, which takes place every April.

Artwork was submitted by high school students from across the country to the Academy of American Poets. Matthias is one of 10 students whose work was included in the final pool.

The artists were required to incorporate lines from the poem “Remember” by U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo into their design, which is meant to reflect on poetry as an accessible art form.

Matthias pulled these lines from the poem:

“Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their

tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,

listen to them. They are alive poems.”

Taking cues from Harjo’s imagery, Matthias created the image of a woman of color speaking these lines, showing their movement across the globe.

“I used a woman specifically because I feel women are the strongest influence on the world,” Matthias wrote in explaining his design. “With this in mind, I choose a woman of color because I came from a woman of color, and I wanted to show how I could relate to the poem.”

The winning student will be announced in January. His/her poster will be sent to libraries, schools and bookstores nationwide to promote National Poetry Month, and will also be available on Poets.org. The student will also be featured in American Poets Magazine.