University, poetry society announce student contest winners

Floating in space, childhood curiosity, relationships and holocaust victims proved to be winning themes for this year’s Student Poetry Awards winners.

Laura Ragsdale took first prize for her poem “And Linger and Orbit,” which dealt with the need for humans to connect with each other.

The University’s Robert R. Muntz Library in collaboration with the Poetry Society of Texas presented the eighth annual Student Poetry Awards at Braithwaite Hall last week.

Karla K. Morton, a Texas poet laureate and keynote speaker at the event, signed copies of her books, “Redefining Beauty” and “Superman,” before the function.

Twenty-one guests attended the ceremony to recognize the winners and to listen to Morton speak and read her poetry.

The contest commemorated National Poetry Month and submissions were sent by e-mail to outreach librarian Angel Rivera.

Four poets emerged winners from 25 submissions, Rivera said. Poets are allowed one poem of 60 lines or two poems with 30.

The judging panel consisted of two English faculty members, two librarians, a local poet and Rivera.

Other winners are:
• Second place: Jennifer Simmons — “Stream of Consciousness”
• Third place: Tina Bausinger — “Remember us”
• Fourth Place: Felicia Gonzalez — “Sleep Chamber”

Ragsdale and Bausinger could not attend to collect their prizes, but the other winners accepted gift certificates and signed copies of one of Morton’s books.

Simmons, an English literature undergraduate, said she started writing poetry as a child and the inspiration for her poem came from childhood.

“The first poem I wrote was when I was 13,” she said. “I started writing a book when I was 9. I was thinking when I was younger there was a stream we used to play by and that’s what growing up is like.”

Simmons said poetry comes naturally to her and she plans to pursue it as a career.

Gonzalez, a psychology major, said she is pleased with fourth place.

“I want to write and I want to teach too,” she said. “It’s just something I can’t help but to do. I love to write. It’s always been a passion of mine. I just write from my heart.”

Bausinger, an English major and last year’s first-place winner, said she started writing at age 12. “I love reading poetry, she said. “It’s such a great creative outlet.”

Bausinger said she became inspired after a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Houston.

“It was moving to me, and you hope people wouldn’t forget about the victims of the holocaust,” she said.

Anne McCrady, East Texas poet and member of the East Texas Poet Society, introduced Morton.

“It’s been a great honor to have the poet laureate of Texas come to Tyler,” McCrady said.

McCrady said she admires Morton’s resilience and grace in the face of a cancer diagnosis and her ability to turn the experience into something positive.

“I met Karla some years ago, and she is just a beautiful spirit, McCrady said. “We are all excited as women poets that Karla brings a woman’s perspective.”

Morton said the little things in nature inspired her, and she encouraged poets not to expect inspiration to come automatically.

“When you open yourself up to the world, I think that’s when you open up yourself to receiving inspiration,” she said.

Morton said her poetry writing started in childhood when her teacher responded to a poem she wrote. “We had an assignment to write about our favorite color, and her response was “Wow!” she said. “And that’s all I needed. Just one word.” Morton said reading other poets’ works helped her find her voice.

“I found a style that I really loved in poetry and started creating similar patterns,” she said.

Morton spoke of her experiences trying to get published and the stacks of rejection letters she got before her poetry got accepted.

She urged the student poets to not give up and suggested they attend writer’s conferences to meet publishers and industry professionals when they become stuck.

Morton said she felt inspired to use her experience coping with cancer to write her book, “Redefining Beauty.”

“I used poetry as a way to get myself through cancer,” she said.

Morton said earning a living as a poet is almost impossible.

“You just have to have another means of support,” she said “My advice is don’t give up and get a job and write whenever you can.”

Gonzalez summed up sentiments of participating poets present by saying, “I love writing. I just write from my heart.”