Claire has drawn the attention on the local press in the following articles. TEENAGE POET WRITES HER WAY THROUGH SUMMER Mix a little whimsy with a little rhyme, add a little poetry and it suits this girl just fine Wednesday, July 19, 2006 by Melissa A. Chadwick Staff Writer, Gazette Newspapers If she could, Claire Genevieve La Fleur would use a fountain pen to transcribe the thoughts that percolate in her head before flowing rapidly onto paper. Instead, the 14-year-old rising freshman at Stone Ridge School of the Scared Heart in Bethesda uses a laptop computer to tap out the words and phrases that take shape in her mind. She published her first book of poetry, ‘‘Winterpast,” in late June. ‘‘Sometimes, it just takes a thought, as most things do,” Claire said of her poetry during an interview last week. ‘‘I’ll find a piece of paper, or my hand if that’s the only thing I have, and write down that thought or image.” Two of her poems were chosen in March by St. Mary’s College of Maryland to be published in the 2006 Women Writers Reading book. She was one of 165 writers who submitted more than 200 pieces for consideration. Work from 25 poets was chosen. This summer, she participated in a writing class for high school students at Montgomery College-Rockville where she wrote a short story, ‘‘Robby’s Reunion,” about her Siamese cat, who is appropriately named Robert Frost. The flurry of writing began in September after her aunt read a poem Claire wrote titled ‘‘Surrealism.” Claire, a Boyds resident, had recently learned about the concept as an eighth-grader at Stone Ridge. At her family’s urging, she has since penned more than 43 poems and self-published a book of poetry with the help of her mother, Terri La Fleur. ‘‘It was like the cork came out of the bottle,” said Terri, who credits reading and books on tape when Claire was a child for her daughter’s passion for words. ‘‘This poetry just started coming in gushes.” Talk of a book of the budding poet’s work wasn’t serious at first. ‘‘It started as a joke between me and my mom,” Claire said. ‘‘She got scared that I would stop writing, but I wrote so much this year.” With so many poems, they considered printing a book at a copy center, but then they learned through their Internet research that printing a hardcover book could be affordable. A company in Canada printed 2,000 copies, which arrived at the La Fleur home at the end of June. The book is available for sale at Claire’s Web site, www.clairelafleur.com. Mother and daughter hope to donate some of the copies to area Catholic schools. ‘‘It might help other kids who think their poems aren’t good enough to think, ‘Wow, if she can do it, I can do it,’” Claire said. ‘‘Most people can write poetry if they really think about it.” Claire said the process comes pretty effortlessly to her once she gets started. One of the more vivid poems in the book is ‘‘I Will Wait for You Here,” which she penned after a brief meeting with her neighbor, April Brewington. Brewington was walking in Black Hill Regional Park in the spring and was looking for a space to dedicate a park bench for her husband, Ron, who died in November, she said. ‘‘We came down to the water’s edge and found a beautiful spot there,” April Brewington said Monday. Claire and Terri were sitting on a bench not too far away and she told them about the bench, and the words she would print on a plaque: ‘‘Wait for me here.” ‘‘A couple of weeks later, there was the poem in the mail,” Brewington said. ‘‘It was just the most special poem in the most tender part of my life.” Claire read the poem at a memorial service for Ron in May. Claire’s inspiration comes from anywhere. The birds, bugs and wildlife in Black Hill Regional Park, which is near her house, tickle her senses. Being an adolescent girl also adds its own unique touch to her poetry. Overall she aims to keep her poetry light. ‘‘I find that depressing poetry can depress me or sadden other people,” Claire explained. ‘‘And I don’t want people to feel that.” After she writes the first line, she thinks of all the words that rhyme with the last word of the line. Claire’s writing environment, which is anywhere really, is best when there’s a little background noise, most suitably coming from Robert Frost, the cat. He is pictured in the top left corner of the cover art of ‘‘Winterpast,” which was painted by a Clarksburg artist known as Fanchon. Claire takes her inspiration from both Frost the cat and Frost the poet, as well as Emily Dickinson and Rudyard Kipling. ‘‘Poetry is supposed to be about the world around you,” she explained. ‘‘I like to show the lighter part of the world and some things that go unnoticed. ” ‘‘I can’t help but write poetry,” Claire said. ‘‘It’s almost like a subliminal part of my mind.” And really, with a name like Claire Genevieve La Fleur, something poetic was destined to come forth. Copyright © 2006 The Gazette - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Privacy Statement STUDENT POET IS RECOGNIZED FOR REFLECTIVE THOUGHTS By Meg Kummer, Middle School English/Religion Teacher, Communications Lab Staff Robert Frost once said “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought, and the thought has found words.” It is this poetic evolution that eighth grader Claire La Fleur (class of ’10) experienced when she wrote “Girl in the Mirror.” Claire was one of 25 out of 165 writers who submitted over 200 pieces for consideration for inclusion in the 2006 Women Writers Reading chapbook sponsored by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. And on Friday, March 31st Claire presented her poem to a packed audience. The event, which was held in the Daugherty Palmer Commons Room, also featured special guests Camille Norton, poet-in-residence, and Jennifer Cognard-Black, associate professor of English, at St. Mary’s College. Another one of Claire’s poems, entitled “Ode to a Tissue,” also appeared in the chapbook. For the past 14 years, the Women Writers Reading has been an opportunity for women of all ages, races, and creeds to celebrate their literary talent. Claire’s poem and notes about the poem appear below. Girl in the Mirror The girl who lives right next to me, Yet only sometimes do I see, Her eyes are green and brown like mine, Her gaze is strong, her pupils shine. Often times I see her sigh, But not a sound from her lips fly, From time to time I think that she, Can’t hear the words that come from me. But now I turn from looking glass, And wonders tabled till at last, Find answers to this mystery, Of she who lives right next to me. Claire notes: I can’t exactly remember when this poem was written, but I know that it was sometime in late November 2005. However I can remember exactly what made me write this poem. I was trying to stare out through a window to see my backyard. I was annoyed by how all I could see was my reflection. Then, all of sudden, I looked straight into her eyes. I was transfixed, unwilling to move from the window. I can remember longing to paint that girl, her image infused with a slight shimmer from the stars that shown that night. Then I remembered that I could paint. Not with oils, or watercolors, or acrylics, certainly not, but maybe with words. This is the finished poem. Copyright INTERCOM, Volume 37, No. 6 ()