Elaine Loft, Staff Writer
The winners of the English Department Writing Awards were announced at the June 2 Community Meeting. The categories included: Poetry, Analytical Writing, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.
Caroline Barrett ’25 took first place in the Analytical Writing category for her essay, “Beyond the Binary: The Reclamation of the Black Identity in Beloved.”
There were three prizes awarded in Creative Nonfiction. Tied for first place were Sophia Zioze ‘27 for “The Shape of Grief,” and AJ Emond ‘27 for “Grandchild of an Orphaner.” Kate McGee ‘25 came in second place with “Step Nine.”
In the category of Fiction, Helen Saunders ‘26 was awarded first place for “The Lowell Mills,” and second place went to Christine Nguyen ‘26 for “A Wanderer’s Wonder 33.”
For Poetry, first place was awarded to Selma Kruščica‘28 for her piece, “Contradiction.” Second place went to Awaab Mousa ‘28, for “A Human Paradox.”
Contradiction (excerpt), Selma Kruščica ‘28
I wear my name like a prayer and a question, passed down through stories, folded in language, wrapped in expectations that don’t quite fit.
I am a daughter of deserts and wifi. Of a call to prayer and feminism. I kneel in prayer, then rise in protest, both feel like worship.
Sometimes I feel like a contradiction, a mosaic with missing pieces. But maybe that’s the point. To be unfinished, to be becoming.
So no, I may not fit into your perfect mold. Maybe I was never meant to. I am making space for myself, between silence and voice, between my heritage and my hope. Between who they say I should be, and who I already am.
