On Tuesday, November 11, 2014 the Margaret Harvin Wilson Writing Award Ceremony was held in the museum education room. There were five finalists with works of poetry and fiction. Of the five finalists, Senior English major Whitney Gray won the award with her poem “Sweet Something’s.” I asked Whitney a few questions via email about her award and future.
1) How does it feel to be an award winning writer?
It’s pretty exciting. I feel very honored. In the creative field, things can be rather subjective so I’m always psyching myself out about my work, going back and forth on whether it’s good or not. Although it’s my passion and the satisfaction is in the writing itself, it’s really nice to have outside validation, especially since I want to get my work published one day. I want my words to be impactful. One of the judges came up to me after the program and told me what made my poem special to him. That was one of the greatest feelings.
2) What was your inspiration for your winning poem, “Sweet Something’s”?
I actually laugh when people ask me this question about this poem because it really just started with persimmons. I’d never tried one and they looked so cute and such a gorgeous orange so I thought I would love it. I actually couldn’t stand them so it’s “sickly sweet taste” became a line in my poem and it went from there and developed into something about the dynamics of romantic relationships and the quirks we hate but also appreciate because they make up that special person. I formed a story in my head and went with it.
3) What was your favorite work out of the other contestants and why?
Hmm. This is a hard question. I’d really have to read back over each, but off of the top of my head, I’d have to say Natalie’s poem “The Garden” since I’m always a sucker for love poems. The imagery was beautiful and to me it was what I think of as a quiet poem, which I love so much. Each word melts into the other. The images create peace and stillness. I probably sound weird, but it makes sense in my head. All three girls had lovely work though. I was really excited to hear them since I’ve never happened to have any of them in my workshops before.
4) What do you plan to do next in the writing world?
I guess for now, I’m finishing up my senior capstone with a poetry chapbook and a reading. I hope to start trying to send some work to journals and start working on an actual poetry book. I also want to start working on my fiction more again since I haven’t for a while. I’m optimistic about my work and I hope that one day, I can reach many with my words.