2009 Loft Poetry Contest

We have just completed our 2009 Loft Poetry Writing Contest. Thanks to all who participated. We received 29 excellent submissions - all of which showed a tremendous amount of talent and potential.

I would like to thank our panel of judges Elinor Appel, Steve Quig, Alice Gillette, John Newman, and LeAnne Laux Bachand for taking the time to read and consider these submissions. We would also like to thank Student Leadership for their generous and enthusiastic support as well.

Currently, we only have permission to share the first and third place poems online, so we hope you enjoy the work of these talented NSCC students.


First Place

Viaje Bien
Ryan Belcher

She’s gone, when did she leave?
She was here to keep the seat full,
to keep the untrustworthy sorts away from me.
She smiled at me—but not too long—when I got on;
I could trust her kind old face.
And now she’s gone.
The cluster of high schoolers (high scholars? no, schoolers)
joke about someone’s butt too loudly;
their cackling and hooting shake the bus awake.
They are the Indian peafowl, waving their plumage
shamelessly, making too much noise.
Use auriculares
I am the ostrich in the wrong exhibit.
One of these days I will be plucked for a duster.
I shuffle around in my seat, pretending to read real estate ads and poetry.
Obliquely, I confirm the vacant seat, but I dare not stare at it.
Strange people stare at empty bus seats. Everyone else stares at strange people.
The seat shouldn’t be empty; there are so many people here.
Are they saving it for some especially cruel tormentor—
someone who will breathe on my neck,
talk about my book, punch me in the head,
ask for my name?
No acose a otros pasajeros.
An old man boards at this stop.
A younger man, lanky and swaggering, gets to the only empty seat
(Is this the one they sent?)
and lounges—sprawls broadly upon it.
Haga lo Correcto, jerk. Viaje Bien!
I shout, but no, I could never never, not here.
My shifting disturbs the woman sitting on my coat.
Get off my coat, and quit smelling like sautéed onions, please.
The old man picks his way down the aisle, pole by pole,
fingers gripping like the tendrils of a dry beanstalk.
We lurch, he stumbles,
I clench my fists in my lap.
My neck is tight, my back is sore.
My jaw clamps tighter, and another piece of molar flakes off.
(What has she been doing all day? It can’t be foodservice, so why does she smell like onions?)
A grating whisper announces the cross-streets.
I pull the cord, and the yellow line is all that’s keeping me here.
Stop the bus. Come on, come on.
Stop.

Second Place

Tiananmen
by James Berglund

Not available yet

Third Place

After/Before
by Autumn Straker

We are (too) close(d).
I can see the (s)k(in)
ch(apt) on your (s)lips
\\of doc”u-ment”s
(and fin(e/ished) p((r(ed))ints)//.
You can see the hairs/hands
(se)ar(ch)ing [on/my]
eyebrows/forarm and neck.
We are (two)
({c)[los(e}/t)](s).
I can see you ((for))got to
(s)have this ((morn)ing)).
You can see my eye(lin [g]er/s)
(fa(ul)t)igue (a)t
its (little) ((black))
tail{s hin(g)[e/r] s}.

Who’s/its (to) c(h/l)ose when we(;)
can(‘t) (he)ar
each o(the)rs {w\d)eep
(b(r)ea(t)(h(in(g)))/k).
When we‘,re(turn) breathing,
in/out the same ex-hale.
This is why I hold my breathe
and close my eyes
Before/after we kiss
hope/fearing it might
(not) salve young
{sanguin
tumn Straker

Simple Present Tense with the Coyote

Practice Simple Present Tense with the Road Runner and Coyote. There are practice exercises at the end.

Present Continuous (Progressive) and the Road Runner

Learn Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense with the Road Runner and Coyote. There are practice exercises at the end of the video.

To Celebrate National Poetry Month in April ---

The Loft Writing Center Plus is Sponsoring Our First Annual Student Poetry Contest

The theme: Fear/Hope

Students can submit a one page poem exploring the ideas of fear and hope in whatever poetic fashion they want to address them.

They can also come into the Loft to work with some of our writing tutors to develop and refine their poems for submission.

The top three winning students will:

Win cash prizes

Be featured in a public reading,

And be published in the 2010 edition of the Licton Springs Review.

The deadline for submission is Friday April 17th @ 1:30 pm. All entries may be dropped off at the front desk in the Loft.

The entry form can be picked up at The Loft Writing Center or downloaded at http://facweb.northseattle.edu/dtarker/poetry submission form.pdf

Grammar Toones

Whoever said grammar couldn't be funny has never watched this series: Grammarman.

The Loft Writing Center’s First Annual Essay Writing Contest

Calling all student writers attending classes at North Seattle Community College!

The Loft Writing Center Plus is now accepting submissions to its first annual student essay writing contest. If you fancy yourself a budding writer or just have a story you’re burning to share, you should consider writing an essay and submitting it to this contest. Not only will you have a chance to win a cash prize, but the first place winner will also be published in the Licton Springs Review, North Seattle Community College’s literary journal.

Content Criteria:

The essay should be a personal narrative, which means a story about something that has happened to you. It could be about learning how to drive, immigrating to America, eating a strange food, playing chess for the first time, or even shaking hands with a celebrity or politician. The topic is wide open. The most important requirement as far as content is that the essay must conform to the genre of a personal narrative.

If you’re not certain what a personal narrative essay looks like, you can always come visit the Loft and ask one of our writing tutors to help get you started.

Format Criteria:

The essay should meet the following format guidelines:

• 12 point font
• Double spaced
• Times New Roman font
• 3,000 words or less

Submission Criteria

Essays should be submitted to the Loft Writing Center by Sunday November 2, 2008 at 4:30 pm. You can drop your submissions at the greeter station as you enter the Loft.

Please remember to turn in a submission form along with your essay. You can download a PDF of the submission form by following this link.

http://facweb.northseattle.edu/dtarker/essay%20submission%20form.pdf

All entries will be judged anonymously, so please do not write your name on the essay. Only write your name on the entry form.

You may also submit electronically at dtarker@sccd.ctc.edu

Prizes

Beyond just enjoying all the praise that will be showered upon you by your peers and instructors, the top three winners will win the following prizes.

First Place = $100.00 and publication in The Licton Springs Review
Second Place = $75.00
Third Place = $50.00

Awards will be announced at a celebration during the first week of December.

We would like to thank the Education Fund and Student Government for providing funding in support of this writing contest.

Now get writing!

Happy Punctuation Day

Today is Punctuation Day!

To learn more, visit this web site:

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/