Fourteen students were recognized for winning entries at the 16th Annual Writing Contest and Awards Ceremony held at the Jefferson Davis Campus on April 22. Gulf Coast alumna Maggi Vaughn was the keynote speaker for the event. She is the poet laureate of Tennessee and was inducted into the Perkinston Campus Alumni Hall of Fame at Homecoming 2009.
Vaughn, an award-winning poet, songwriter, playwright and author, urged the future writers to write what they know. “The things that you feel most passionately about and the things you have experienced are the same things that will grip readers. When readers can connect with what you are saying, it will hold more meaning for them, and they will be willing to buy your books or listen to your songs.”
Dr. Vernon LaCour, chair of the Language Arts Department at the Jefferson Davis Campus, said, “We were so pleased with the quality of entries in this year’s contest. There are very talented students at Gulf Coast, and we are thrilled to give them the opportunity to be published.”
There were two categories of poetry in this year’s contest. Winners in the Verse Form Poetry category were Zoe Newman, “Jive and Wail,” first place; Janice Morrissey, “Pubescent Storm,” second place; and James Slater, “The Old Biker Dude,” third place. Winners in the Free Form Poetry category were Vel Merrithey, “Paiege’s Salle de Jeu,” first place; Donna Morgan, “A Tribute to Ants and Aunts,” second place; and Patrick Mulvihill, “God in Heaven Watch O’er Me,” third place.
There were two categories of essay in this year’s contest. In the Personal Essay category, winners were Tesia Nagorka, “A Strand of Color,” first place; Catherine Manduca, “Satisfied,” second place; and Mattias Russell, “I Want to Ride My Bike,” third place. In the Critical Essay category, winners were Tesia Nagorka, “Circumstances and Choice in ‘A Rose for Emily’ and ‘Barn Burning,’” first place; Eldridge Helwick, “Between ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ and ‘A&P,’ A Likeness of Form,” second place; and Phillip Bradley, “Oedipus the King: Blind but Set Free,” third place.
Winners in the Short Story category were Rachel Toche, “Hot Thibodeaux,” first place; Ashley Seawright, “Magic Moment,” second place; and Leo Ramos, “Superman Lifts a Car to Save…,” third place.
Winning entries, along with student artwork, are published each year in “illumination,” the tri-campus literary magazine. This year’s artwork was provided by students in the Jefferson Davis Campus Fine Arts Department.
