The Land Bridge Theory by Angel Zhao (Grades 7-9)

In "The Land Bridge Theory", poet Angel Zhao writes about the culture shock she experienced through the process of immigrating from China to Canada at a young age. Through beautifully crafted imagery and line breaks that mirror the flow of the passage of time, Zhao explores all manner of turbulent waters that immigrants must bridge by journeying to a new country which include foreign foods, new holidays, and having to understand a new literary canon. "The Land Bridge Theory" won second place in the League of Canadian Poets' national 2022 Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize competition.

Angel Zhao is a Chinese Canadian poet whose work has also been featured in the ISABC's Ariadne anthology, Pluvia literary magazine's website, and BASA's Firecracker anthology. Additionally, her short film Teenage Homage was a runner up in The New York Times' 2021 Coming of Age multimedia contest.