cultural heritage

Personal Narrative·Arielle Kouyoumdjian, age 13 — A 13-year-old visits an indigenous village in Ecuador's jungle and confronts the stark contrasts between their sustainable lifestyle and American consumption.

Personal Narrative·Claire Jiang, age 12 — A granddaughter traces her family's rise and fall through China's civil war and Cultural Revolution, from her great-grandfather's fruit business to burning ownership papers for survival.

Poetry·Talia E. Moyo, age 10 — A young writer catalogs the places that shaped her — from African deserts to New Jersey beaches, Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls to French villages — weaving family, food, and a beloved...

Personal Narrative·Alicia Xin, age 13 — A privileged teen volunteers at a camp in rural China's Liangshan mountains, where friendships with local Yi children reveal the true meaning of gratitude.

Poetry·Leila Lakhal, age 12 — A Muslim girl defends her faith and community against stereotypes, describing her culture as a warm blanket woven from love and tradition.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A young visitor to Sobibór death camp touches the train tracks and imagines herself as a child searching for murdered parents.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — On New Year's Eve in Pucón, local teenagers slaughter a lamb for tourists' supper while a volcano erupts, creating a moment of apocalyptic tension.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A granddaughter discovers her grandfather's old Russian typewriter in a shoe closet and types her name on it, connecting past and present through the dusty keys.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A trumpet teacher arrives for lessons but instead of teaching, drinks espresso and talks about his Sicilian homeland, Mount Etna, and the village where he feels at home.

Poetry·Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, age 13 — A young poet traces Dostoevsky's footsteps through his former spaces, feeling his presence in stairs, doors, and pages as a white night falls on St. Petersburg.