PITTSFIELD -- "It kind of just clicked."

That was the day that Katie Belgard, 16, of Pittsfield got the inspiration to write a poem about her grandmother, who had died a few years earlier. While hospitalized in Florida before her death, Belgard's grandmother wrote her many letters. Belgard wishes she had written back more.

"I was sitting in my room and thinking I missed her," Belgard said. "I thought, 'I should write a letter about my grandmother.'

"She was a caring person. She had a lot of personal integrity and strength and that's important to me now going through high school."

Belgard, who will be a junior this year at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, sought help from history and creative writing teacher Richard Waite. After help with editing, she decided to submit the poem for publication.

She recently got the notice in the mail. Her poem, "Letters Lost," would be published in the new issue of the The Louisville (Ky.) Review at Spalding University, which has recently published well-known writers such as David Ray, David Brendan Hopes, Frank X Walker, Jhumpa Lahiri, Greg Pape and Debra Kang Dean.

"I thought, 'No, this is junk mail. You got to be kidding me,'" Belgard said.

Belgard says she has dabbled in poetry previously, but is inspired now to write more and send out to more magazines. She also participates in slam poetry events.

Poetry, Belgard says, is special to her because "it's a place I can get away from all the riffraff of everything else. It helps me think clear."

Scott Monroe, 861-9253, 487-3288

smonroe@centralmaine.com