The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ recognized creative writing students with awards and scholarships.
UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ graduate student Micah Lau¡¯s poem “Free Skate” is based on Olympic figure skaters Yuna Kim—an international sensation—and a lesser-known Canadian pairs team Jessica Dub¨¦ and Bryce Davison.
“Focalized through a narrator who visits Bucheon, South Korea, where both Kim Yuna and the narrator’s host were born, the poem explores what it means to submit oneself to elegance and danger, with or without a partner,” Lau said.
Lau won The Academy of American Poets Prize, which recognizes the best poem on any subject. He won $100 and a one-year Academy of American Poets membership.
“I was surprised,” Lau said. “The poem was written a while ago, and I decided to submit it to the contest at the last minute. Though I¡¯ve been focusing on writing fiction in the graduate program, I¡¯ll definitely return to poetry when it feels right.”
One judge wrote “Competitive figure skating is the initial conceit that defines the tension between performance, intimacy and pain. Readers are roped into the question: ‘what heart does not want, in some sinister way, to leave marks on the other?’ The poet of ‘Free Skate’ held me most as a reader, thinker and writer.”
The Patsy Sumie Saiki Award
UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s Briana Uu took first place for The Patsy Sumie Saiki Award and a $1,000 prize. The award recognizes the best short story that reflects the history, cultures or traditions of Â鶹´«Ã½. Uu¡¯s winning piece is “Old Spider Man.”
“With lyrical clarity, well-placed humor and detailed metaphors, ‘Old Spider Man’ is a delightful coming-of-age story about three brothers who navigate place, boyhood and community amidst fear, shame and imagination,” one of the judges commented.
Second place and $250 went to UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s Ashley Insong for “A Spoonful of Home,” and third place and $100 went to UH ±á¾±±ô´Ç¡¯²õ Alexander Coley for “The Haole Who Never Knew Fear (And Then Got Scared at a Farmers’ Market).”
The Stephen C. & William H. Stryker Award for Fiction
The winner of The Stephen C. & William H. Stryker Award for Fiction and $500 is UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ graduate student Christina Lee for “A Lesson in Grief.” The award recognizes the best short story on any subject.
“I was very encouraged about the amount and quality of the submissions we received during the pandemic,” said Craig Santos Perez, UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ associate professor and interim creative writing director. “It showed me the resiliency and ongoing passion for writing.”
Other awards presented:
Myrle Clark Awards
- Allison Tomooka
- Isabella Pasa
- Emily Jane O¡¯Callaghan
- Heather French
- Kyoungmin Kim
- Eva Campney
- Samuel St. John
- Pohaikealoha Duarte
- Shannon Velligas
- Camryn Miller
- Kamryn Curammeng
Hemingway Awards
- Shannon Velligas
- Camryn Miller
The Young Writers of Â鶹´«Ã½ Scholarship
- Micah Lau
- Isabella Pasa
Grace K. J. Abernethy Scholarship
- Hillary Stratton
—By Marc Arakaki