Young Writers Contest Winners
In Fiction
First Place
“The Best of Both Worlds” by Angela Yoon, Age 16
Gangnam-gu, Seoul-si, South Korea
Seoul International School, Grade 10
In a sense “The Best of Both Worlds” is itself the best of two worlds, one the universal coming of age story, a loss of innocence we all recognize, but in another the very specific story of leaving a childhood in the Shanxi Province for a harsh adult reality in Beijing. I admire the compression and the urgency of this story, the poignancy of it, and the circular structure, the end and beginning mirroring one another in this journey of growth and of loss. A beautiful piece.
~Robin Black
Second Place
“Home” by Jiace Cai
Voorhees, New Jersey, United States
Eastern Regional High School, Grade 11
“Home” is a clear, eloquent depiction of the difficulties of living a dual identity, Chinese at home, American at school, lying and covering up in both places. The feelings of shame and of pride that reside inside the narrator are rendered with heartbreaking simplicity. “I changed my name from Xiaofei to Jennifer. . .” The journey to an acceptance of an identity woven of both “homes” is a powerful one.
~Robin Black
Third Place
“Face Me” by Cassidy Cole
Denver, Colorado, United States
Girl’s Athletic Leadership School, Grade 8
“Face Me” is a portrait of a very young woman living under the Taliban regime who feels unseen, faceless, powerless, because she was born female. It is a uncompromising, harrowing depiction of the kind of rage that being treated like offensive “lesser” property engenders, a glimpse at societal abuse, and worse, through the eyes of one hidden girl who has not given up a dream of power, whatever it takes. A painful and deeply moving piece.
~Robin Black
In Nonfiction
First Place
“Cultural Obstacles” by Ben Gershenfeld
Voorhees, New Jersey, United States
Eastern Regional High School, Grade 11
I admire how the author combines the personal – holiday schedules at his school – with the wider view, such as his father’s workplace, the corporate world beyond, and the US House and Senate, to reveal deeply ingrained inequity in how we treat religions and religious holidays.
~Dinty W. Moore
Second Place
“The Health Care Struggle of the Australian Aborigines” by Evan Kielmeyer
Smithtown, New York, United States
Smithtown High School West, Grade 10
The author’s well-researched and compassionate look at the many obstacles – cultural, economic, geographical – that aboriginal citizens face in obtaining quality healthcare is compelling and important.
~Dinty W. Moore
Third Place
“1000 Years” by Marceline Nguyen Age 16
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tran Dai Nghia, Grade 10
A fascinating historical look at the ancestors of the Vietnamese people, and how the members of the ancient Au Lac culture thwarted attempts at cultural obliteration to preserve their selves and their society. An important bit of history still, sadly, relevant today.
~Dinty W. Moore
In Poetry
First Place
“A Pashtun Girl in Northern Pakistan” by Dashiell Yeatts-Lonske
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Richard Montgomery High School, Grade 10
This poem is deeply intelligent, with stanzas arranged in order of the daily calls to prayer. The writing is clear and unaffected and subtle in its irony and grief. The work of a real poet.
~David Mason
Second Place
“Milk and Honey” by Matthew Rice, Age 16
Buffalo Grove, Illinois, United States
Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Grade 11
The poem is vivid in its writing, with wonderfully specific touches about life in a divided land. The poet shows real structural intelligence in the movement between two columns of verse, and the verse itself is strong.
~David Mason
Third Place
“Shalom, Salaam” by John Vernaglia, Age 14
Medford, Massachusetts, United States
Cambridge Friends School, Grade 8
With its ironic formal symmetries, this poem simply and beautifully underlines the absurdity of a situation in which people who are culturally tied become enemies because of bigotry and mistrust.
~David Mason
Congratulations to all the winners of our 2014 Young Writers Contest! First, second, and third place winners will receive cash prizes, as well as publication in our 2015 issue of DoveTales, an International Journal of the Arts. Author picture and bio pages will be added to our website as available. Contest finalists will be notified individually, and may be considered for future publication. All young writers will receive a certificate of participation.
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