Poetry contest winners announced

Poetry contest winners announced

BY SCN CONTRIBUTOR 12/12/07

Maria Garcia, left, stands beside Poder Popular Coordinator Evelyn Vargas as Vargas reads Garcia's poem aloud. Garcia's three children listen intently in the foreground. Garcia, who cannot read or write, created a poem that won first place in the community category.First Night Monterey, in collaboration with the Arts Council for Monterey County, Poder Popular/Community Foundation for Monterey County, The Monterey County Free Libraries in Gonzales and Greenfield, and participating schools and community sites implemented a poetry contest. Winners were announced this weekend. Contest winners and their families convened recently for an awards ceremony followed by an art-making workshop led by local artists. Winning students poets will have the option to have their readings video-taped. All winners will create self-portrait posters including a photograph and a poem. First place winners will create a backdrop using poetic images. A "Wall of Life," made of the self-portrait posters will be on exhibit at the First Night Monterey celebration on New Year's Eve. The culminating event will take place on New Year's Eve during a poetry slam where winning student poets read and discuss their poems with Poet Garland Thompson, Professor Diana Garcia, and the community, with the project banners of their poetic images as a backdrop. For more information, contact Ellen Martin at 233-2092, or e-mail ellen@firstnightmonterey.org.The poems were judged by a panel of experts, including Professor Diana Garcia, Director of the Creative Writing and Social Action Program at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is a nationally recognized, award-winning poet. Poet Eliot Ruchowitz-Roberts is the director of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House and retired language arts professor from MPC. Poet Garland Thompson is the Director of Poetry Slam and organizes/publishes national poetry events at the Henry Miller Library. Community Coordinator- Nick Sandoval.Winners:Elementary School Category: Tomas Madrigal, 1st Place, GonzalesTania Rodriguez, 1st Place, GreenfieldNathalie Gomez, 2nd Place, GreenfieldAdriana Jimenez, Honorable Mention, GreenfieldMiddle School Category:Moncia Almanza, 1st Place, GonzalesHigh School Category:Zochitl Hernandez, 1st Place, Gonzales Adalberto Valdez, 2nd Place, Gonzales Alyssa McCrimmon, Honorable Mention, Gonzales Samantha Uribe, Honorable Mention, GonzalesJosé Rodriguez, Honorable Mention, GonzalesSilvia Rodriguez, 1st Place, GreenfieldConcepsion "Conchita" Jimenez, 2nd Place, GreenfieldCommunity Category: Aurelio "Jay" Madrigal, 1st Place, GonzalesLaura Almanzo, 2nd Place, GonzalesMaria Garcia, 1st Place, GreenfieldFernando Edeza Campana, 2nd Place, GreenfieldBeatrice Marquez, Honorable Mention, GreenfieldThe Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo~My Life/My Town poetry contest was launched in October at assemblies and in classrooms at the schools. Free poetry workshops (up to 2 hours) led by Poets Garland Thompson and Eliot Ruchowitz-Roberts were held at the elementary school, middle school and the high school in both Greenfield and Gonzales and at community/library sites in both cities. The workshops included discussions of imagery, poetic styles and the oral tradition to help young people draw poetry from the words they know and the lives they live.Three bi-lingual Spanish-English translators assisted with the workshops. We anticipated that approximately 500 young children and families participated in the school and library workshops. The poems they wrote will be entered into the Mi Vida/Mi Pueblo~My Life/My Town poetry contest. First, second and third place winners were selected for each school, with the winning poems read aloud at an assembly. A contest was held in each city as well, with winners in each city. The winning poems will be posted at the community libraries, shown at the First Night Monterey Celebration 2008, New Year's Eve, at the schools, and on the First Night Monterey Web site.The poems were judged by a panel of experts, including Professor Diana Garcia, Director of the Creative Writing and Social Action Program at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is an nationally recognized award winning poet. Poet Eliot Ruchowitz-Roberts is the director of the Robinson Jeffers Tor House and retired language arts professor from MPC. Poet Garland Thompson is the Director of Poetry Slam and organizes/publishes national poetry events at the Henry Miller Library.For more information, please visit online at www.firstnightmonterey.orgFirst Night Monterey, PO Box 185 Monterey, CA 93942- Phone 373-4778; email: ellen@firstnightmonterey.org."The triumph and success is in not only providing a venue to have a voice about their life, their town, and where they live, but also the ability to communicate in prose how they're feeling about their life," said Martin.

An excellent example of the power of poetry is the piece written on behalf of Maria Garcia, a Greenfield resident. Garcia began taking her three children to the poetry workshops, and instructors encouraged her to participate as well. Garcia, who cannot read or write, was reluctant at first, but with the help of the workshop instructors she created a poem that won first place in the community category. Following is the English version of Garcia's poem:

"Manana"

When I wake up my husband,

I feel lazyAs if my body screams"

I do not have strength.

"My baby boy tells me"

Mami do not want to get up.

"Upon feelingthe water on my face,

I feel like a fish in water

contemplating the blue.

In the afternoon

when I sit down to eatI can smell

the carne asada from the catering wagon.

Upon feeling the heat melt me like ice,

upon sitting down in the rows of the fields

I feel my knees pulse like

an agitated heart.

At the end of the day, my knees

feel energy-less and hard

like a rock.

And the moon has pity on meand tells me

"Lay down and restand do not wake up until tomorrow."

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