Writing contest chooses winners
The Utah State University English department announced the winners of its annual creative writing contest last week. Charles Waugh, director of the contest, said one of the purposes of the contest is to encourage as many people as possible to write.
He said the contest had 158 entries from 25 different disciplines and encompassing four colleges.
The winning submissions will be published in the department’s literary magazine, “Scribendi” in mid-April, Waugh said. The winning authors will also have a chance to read their work April 14 at Helicon West, the bi-monthly open mic night held at True Aggie Cafe in Logan.
For many of the winners it was their second, third, and even fourth year submitting work to the contest. Students whose work placed for the first time, however, were pleasantly surprised.
“I’m shocked,” said Tina Sitton, a junior majoring in English, “this was the first time I’ve ever entered anything, and to place in it is still surprising … I feel humbled.”
Brian Brown’s poems took first place in the graduate poetry category, and he said this was his first time entering a creative writing contest.
“To have (these poems) win was a sort of validation, like maybe my writing is worth something after all,” he said.
The work of a writer tends to be personal, and many of the writers expressed their reasons behind their work. Many were directed toward family and friends. Other topics among the winning pieces include motherhood, friendship, a preoccupation with a Samba dancer and the death of a loved one.
“Inviting a writer or poet to explain their work is like asking an over-affectionate parent to explain how cute or smart their kid is,” Sitton said.
First place winner in graduate nonfiction John Gilmore said his narrative was about his ex-wife’s fall into anorexia and bulimia. He researched the history and culture of an El Salvadorian food called a pupusa, which was one of the things she was willing to eat, and incorporated it in to his piece.
He said, “The end result was, I guess, a sort of meditation on my wife’s and my own obsession with wanting to control things we can’t. Death mostly.”
Though each winner expressed passion for his or her work, a majority said writing was not part of their after-college career.
“I am an English major, but I actually plan on going into law, where I’m sure I’ll have opportunities galore to develop my creative writing skills,” said Tim Clark, second-place winner in undergraduate poetry.
For some, however, writing is all they want to do, and they said a day job was probably the most realistic option.
“Put simply, I want to write and paint for a living. Not the most realistic choice, I know, but I’m going for it. Otherwise, I’ll get a day job,” said Tessa Ryser, who placed in the undergraduate art and fiction categories.
The contest also included an art category, with five winners taking 10 awards in the undergraduate and graduate categories.
Bernadene Ryan, who took the most art awards, said this was her first time entering an art contest, and she was surprised to win. She said she has been taking photographs for years.
“It is often surprising, at least to me, what can be captured by a photograph,” Ryan said. “There are details in real-time you may not observe, but the photograph provides an opportunity to really notice details.”
Waugh said students should be working on something for the contest in advance of the deadline in the first week of February.
“Some of the winning entries this year are the result of years of work, and that dedication really shows,” he said.
– la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu