Barrett Creative Writing Contest celebrates 50 years, announces winners

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Illustration of a fist holding a pencil with big blue 50 in the back.

Nearly 40 HFC students and faculty members attended the Francis G. Barrett Creative Writing Contest and the Larry Colter Poetry Prize Awards Ceremony on April 17, where five students were recognized for their winning work.

The winners are:

  • 5th Place: Furqan Hassan
  • 4th Place: Emily Shiroda
  • 3rd Place: Marian Sofyan
  • 2nd Place: Alana DeMaggio
  • 1st Place: Alaina Schnell (who also won the Colter Prize and first place last year in the Barrett Creative Writing Contest)

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Barrett Creative Writing Contest, which HFC holds annually to honor the memory of the English Department's first department chairperson, Frances G. Barrett.

“The Barrett Creative Writing Contest is one of my favorite events. I feel privileged to be part of it,” said HFC English instructor and contest coordinator Dr. Sommer Sterud. “I’m honored to publicly wish the Barrett Creative Writing Contest a happy birthday.”

A joy to read the students’ winning entries

Every awards ceremony begins with the reading of a poem. Sterud read Audre Lorde’s “A Litany of Survival.”

Each winner was introduced by an English faculty member and read their winning entries aloud.

Shiroda, who aspires to become a nurse, is a dual enrollment student from Flat Rock High School. She read her winning entry, a poem titled “Surrender to Society,” which is about the struggles women face and a silent testimony to the power of sisterhood.

“Winning this award was a great accomplishment for me as I’m not technically a college student and have only taken one college English class!” said Shiroda. “When I found out I won 4th place, I was initially surprised because of the topic I chose to write about. But while reading my poem at the ceremony, I realized a lot of people feel the same as I do.”

“For me, it’s such a joy to read our student writers’ work; it’s very heartening,” said Sterud. “All the winners are so young, I can’t wait to see what they do in the future!”