Submitted by: Michael Blanchard, mblanchard@uca.edu on 04/06/2026
The editors of SLANT and the Vortex have announced the winners in their 2025-2026 student poetry contest at the University of Central Arkansas.
The contest was open to all undergraduate students at UCA, regardless of major, and was judged by a panel consisting of three former UCA students who are now published poets and one student editor of Vortex. Macy Cloninger, a graduate student in English and the 2025-2026 Graduate Assistant for SLANT, served as contest coordinator.
Judges awarded first place to Caroline Young, a sophomore from Bethany, Oklahoma, who is majoring in Creative Writing with a minor in Anthropology.
Second place was claimed by Landis Luke, a junior from Greenwood, Arkansas, majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing and Legal Studies.
Rounding out the top three contest finishers was Maria Cornejo, a junior from Gosnell, Arkansas, whose major is Communication Sciences and Disorders and whose minors are Biology and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies.
The trio of student poets will be officially recognized at the UCA School of Language & Literature’s Spring Awards Reception on April 23, when they will receive cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50, respectively, and a framed certificate for their accomplishments.
SLANT is the UCA School of Language & Literature’s international journal of contemporary poetry, now in its 40th year. The Vortex is the University’s award-winning student literary and arts magazine.