Lauren Burchell, a junior at Central Bucks High School West, has been named the 2022 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year. Burchell rose to the top of more than 100 entries in Bucks County Community College’s 35th annual contest, part of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program administered by the college.
Rhianna Searle, a junior at the George School, was the first runner-up. Second runner-up was junior Mira Kaufman, from Council Rock High School North. The third runner-up was junior Pearl Smith, from Neshaminy High School.
The students will read from their works during a celebration on Saturday, May 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Orangery on BCCC’s Newtown Campus, 275 Swamp Road. The event will feature winners, finalists and judges.
The judges were Nicole Steinberg (current Bucks County Poet Laureate) and Jane Edna Mohler (last year’s BCPL).