Candy Cooper

Montclair students perform work that is funny, insightful and profound at this year's Montclair Literary Festival spoken word competition.

by CANDY J. COOPER Special to Montclair Local Here come the second-grade Neupane twins, with their dark curly hair and pinkish garb, and still I can’t tell them apart. I name Lozina as Karuna and Karuna as Lozina until they correct me. Toda...

Taylor Milch was the 11th-grade winner in the first Montclair Literary Festival contest for Montclair High students held last spring, for her story “My Friend Amira.” Runners-up for that grade were Lily Cunningham and Evangeline Unger-Harquail. The contes...

Owen Duncan, a rising freshman, won third place in the Succeed2gether/Montclair Literary Festival Poetry Slam this spring for his poem “Born a Winner.” At the time he was an eighth-grader at Buzz Aldrin Middle School. Judges for the poetry slam were Roger Sedarat, associate professor, MFA program in creative writing and literary translation at Queens College-City University of New York; Grisel Y.

Lily Bryan’s untitled story was the 10th-grade winner in the first Montclair Literary Festival Short Story Contest, held this spring. Arianna Donas and Ellie Whittam were runners-up for that grade. The contest received 77 entries from Montclair High School students. “...

By GRETA POGLINCO The following is the first place-winning short story in the first Montclair Literary Festival, held earlier this year. When it’s so hot you could cook an egg on a sidewalk it decides to appear. It’s shaky air in the shape of a shaky person. When I can...