Keene State College sophomore Hayley Doda, 19, is one of three grand prize winners for the New Hampshire Teen Poetry Prize 2026.
Doda’s poem “Floors” was written and submitted to the contest as an assignment in a poetry course. Doda was in Professor Rodger Martin’s class last fall, the day after her grandfather died. When Martin told students to go somewhere on campus and write a poem inspired by their environment, most of her classmates went to the library or the lawn. Doda went to a rickety old elevator in Morrison Hall that she was slightly afraid of.
Riding between the first and second floors repeatedly, she thought about her grandfather’s death.
“When we got the news that he had passed, it still hurt a lot, even though I didn’t know much about him,” Doda said. “With this poem, I kind of reflected on having a strong connection to him, but not having as strong a connection as I would like to, and not being able to say goodbye.”
Martin requires his advanced poetry students to submit their work for contests or publication so they can engage with a larger audience for their art.
“It’s not any different than an athletic competition,” he said. “The competition brings a poet in contact with other word athletes and builds community.”
Keene State English Professor Brinda Charry added that receiving a recognition like this one “provides [a young poet] the impetus to persist with their craft.” That’s been the case for Doda.
“Winning — it was the best feeling ever,” she said. “This was like a switch to my brain that maybe I can write, and write well.”
The teen poetry contest is part of the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival, hosted by the University of New Hampshire. The festival will host an awards banquet April 17, which Doda hopes to attend.
Along with Doda, the two other grand prize winners are Chloe Zhang, for the poem “WeChat Calls,” and Lucy Bailey, for “POSTCARDS FROM THE FUTURE.” Each poet will receive $500, which Doda says she’ll likely put toward a new computer. The poets, along with other finalists, will be published in the “Yas Poetry Series Teen Anthology,” produced by UNH.
Doda was also published in the anthology last year, when she received an honorable mention in the contest. There are likely other Keene State students whose work will be published this year, Martin said, though the college hasn’t been able to confirm that yet.
Doda, who is from Meredith, is studying film, with minors in creative writing and journalism. She plays the drums, and is the arts and entertainment editor at the Keene State Equinox. After graduation, she hopes to make documentary films and travel.
Charry says that, no matter what career Doda and other young poets pursue, their experience with writing can be helpful.
“In our rapidly changing world, I think the arts are a reminder of our essential humanity, our need to create, and to transcend the confines of our being,” she says. “Whatever else a young person might do for a career, creative work adds meaning and joy to existence.”
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