ANGOLA, Ind. – The winners of Trine University's 2013 Walter Cunningham Writing Contest
have been announced and winning entries can be found at InscriptionsJournal.org. This is the fourth year for the contest sponsored by the university's Department
of Language & Humanities, Humanities Institute and Writing Center.
First-, second- and third-place prizes and honorable mentions are awarded in four
writing categories: academic, creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry. Ninety-nine
separate entries, the most ever, were ranked by a panel of judges from across the
Trine campus. Authors' names were removed to ensure fairness.
Below is a list of the winners, along with a description of their work, for each category.
Academic
First place -- Derek Bycraft, a Jackson, Mich., senior majoring in sport management.
His submission is "Equality Creating Inequality: The Intersection of Race and class
in 'Life in the Iron Mills'". The rhetoric of "wage slavery" in antebellum America
worked (often problematically) to equate the plight of factory workers with that of
enslaved African-Americans. This paper traces that rhetoric in an early short story
by American author Rebecca Harding Davis.
Second place -- Naomi Bush, an Angola senior majoring in general studies with a focus
on English. (Bush also won in creative nonfiction and poetry.)
Her essay, "Integral Temerity," compares Sir Gawain of "Gawain and the Green Knight"
to Geoffrey Chaucer's "Wife of Bath," establishing what Bush terms the two characters'
"integral temerity."
Third place -- Jennifer Jackemeyer, a Buchanan, Mich., freshman majoring in chemical
engineering.
Her essay is "Fact Versus Fiction: What Should Dominate Education?" Using Charles
Dickens' "Hard Times" as a lens, this essay uses references to Charles Darwin's autobiography
and an interview with Allen Hersel, Ph.D., of Trine'sMcKetta Department of Chemical
& Bioprocess Engineering, to argue that the humanities is a core part of even a STEM-focused
education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Honorable mention -- Ashley McLaughlin, an Elkhart junior majoring in forensic science.
(She also won first place in fiction.)
Her opinion piece, "The Haters Come Marching In," argues for greater acceptance of
the often derided but fascinating hobby "cosplay" or "costume play."
Creative nonfiction
First place -- Naomi Bush.
"Nameless" is the story about the names people are called and names that are used
to call others, and how they drive people apart and back together.
Second place -- Sara Fox, a Huntertown freshman majoring in biology.
"Key to the Animal Kingdom" tells how a little girl's first library card is the key
to a magical world.
Third place -- Ruth Temme, an Angola student enrolled in Trine's Middle College program
for high school students.
"My Worst Enemy" tells how a childhood accident is made worse by an overactive imagination.
Honorable mention -- Tyler Marx, a Waterville, Ohio, freshman majoring in social studies
education.
"Harry Potter and the Magic of Reading" is the story of how Harry Potter makes an
after-school program at the YMCA a little more bearable.
Fiction
First place -- Ashley McLaughlin.
"Carmen of Lamia" tells the story of a young violinist's music that seems to have
strange powers. The violinist – and those around her – may not be what they seem.
Second place -- Eric Gigliotti, a Hartland, Mich., junior majoring in design engineering
technology.
"The Nord Krieg" tells how the warrior Asgeir must fight and face the consequences,
including the knowledge that he has killed.
Third place (tie) -- Joshua Marty, a Clyde, Ohio, sophomore majoring in chemical engineering.
"The Dealmaker" tells how demons battle each other, and human involvement complicates
matters.
Third place (tie) -- Katie Davenport, an Angola student enrolled in Trine's Middle
College program for high school students.
"Shards of Glass" is the story of an expectant mother who struggles for survival and
redemption in an oppressed and war-torn community.
Poetry
First place -- Rachel McGuinness, a Grand Rapids, Mich., senior majoring in mechanical
engineering. She has won first place in poetry three times in the annual Cunningham
competition.
In the poem "Vietnam Across the Street," the speaker finds meaning in the view across
the street.
Second place -- Naomi Bush.
"My Apartment, Soon to be Left Behind" is a playful yet melancholy tribute to an apartment
– soon to be left behind.
Third place -- Sarah Sutton, a Montpelier, Ohio, sophomore majoring in elementary
education.
"Haunting Dreams Only I Can See" tells of fragmented visions of the apocalypse that
are conjured through imagery.
Honorable mention -- Sandra Rippon, a Lake Orion, Mich., senior majoring in psychology.
"Good to See You" tells that funerals evoke many, often-conflicting emotions, which
are given voice in this poem.