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Nathan Cummings On Becoming A National Student Poet

caption: First Lady Michelle Obama with the 2013 National Student Poets (from left: Michaela Coplen; Sojourner Ahebee, Nathan Cummings, Louis Lafair, and Aline Dolinh) in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Sept. 20, 2013.
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First Lady Michelle Obama with the 2013 National Student Poets (from left: Michaela Coplen; Sojourner Ahebee, Nathan Cummings, Louis Lafair, and Aline Dolinh) in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Sept. 20, 2013.
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

Elizabeth Austen features Nathan Cummings, a senior at Mercer Island High School, as he reads his poem "Proteus" and describes what being named as one of five National Student Poets in 2013 has meant to him.

The award is billed as "the nation's highest honor for youth poets presenting original work.” The program is part of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and is designed to give promising young writers the visibility and resources to inspire other teen writers.

Cummings’ reading was recorded in the KUOW Studios on November 8, 2013.

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