Congratulations to the eleven Quinebaug Valley Community College students and five Quinebaug Middle College students who were recipients of this year’s Julius Sokenu Poetry Awards.
Sokenu, a longtime English professor at QVCC, left in 2007 to assume a position at Moorpark College in Ventura County, California, where he is currently interim executive vice president. His departure to California inspired the creation of an annual student poetry contest in his name. Sokenu’s poems have been published in Nimrod: International Journal of Prose and Poetry, Hayden’s Ferry Review and Zone Magazine. His Master’s Thesis, East of Badagry, won the Glendon Swarthout Award at Arizona State University. He has been an artist on the roster of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, vice chair of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and Bosselaar Family Foundation poetry scholar at the Aspen Writers Conference.
QVCC
First Prize: “We Are Not So Different from a Goose” by Taylor Lynn Copeland
Second: “Vision of a Red-Faced God” by John Bogue
Third: “Peephole” by Sara Green
Honorable Mention: “Holiness” by Celeste Fournier
Honorable Mention: “The Color Red” by Dakotah Dwyer-Matson
Spanish: Heritage Speakers
First: “Despedida de una amiga al cielo” by Joaris Santiago Cancel
Second: “No Encuentro Solución” by Fabian Sosa-Mangual
Spanish: Non-Heritage Speakers
First: “Rosas Simplemente Flores” by Rowan Coleman
Second: “Ascendencia Celestial” by Taylor Lynn Copeland
Third: “Cuando lo usemos” by Will Brin
Honorable Mention: “Sobre Amistad” by Caitlin Barclay
QMC
First: “To Forgive” by Jennifer Oldroyd
Second: “Trapped” by Andrew George
Third: “Silent Storms” by Abby Fowler
Honorable Mention: “Firefly” by Evey Wehner
Honorable Mention: “Alone” by Sierra Girard
Spanish Judges:
Maria Garcia Alvarez, Gloria Rivera, Jakob Spjut
English Judges
Scott DeShong, Michelle Jones, Jessica Porzuzcek, Mark Szantyr