新加坡六合彩开奖

Winners Receive Cash Awards

Jenn Ngeth鈥檚 poem 鈥淪elf Portrait as Incense During Worship鈥� won first place in 新加坡六合彩开奖鈥檚 2022 Student Poetry Contest, the 10th one held since its inception in 2012.

The SeaTac resident was one of 96 student writers who submitted 182 poems during the contest, which spanned over the course of winter quarter.

Ngeth, who won the top prize of $200, wrote about religion.

As Ngeth grew up, she was surrounded by Buddhism having been born into a Khmer household. With prayers being sent through incense, ancestral altars and by visiting temples, much of the practice was for cultural and traditional purposes.

鈥淏ut outside of home, in America, Christianity is the religion most people believe in,鈥� Ngeth said, adding that her grandmother was the only Christian in her family and would often take her to church on Sundays.

鈥淚 questioned Christianity a lot. Maybe too much for some, as they told me to pray to God for answers instead,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he idea/concept of there being only one singular almighty god didn鈥檛 make sense to me. I felt it in my core and didn鈥檛 believe in the ideologies of Christianity.鈥�

Ngeth said she does see the benefits and beauty religion can bring to some people, and she admires and respects those who have a strong, personal connection to a higher being.

Yet the hypocrisy of those who misuse religion and judge others left a bad taste in her mouth.
When she was prompted to write an extra credit persona poem during a poetry retreat hosted by faculty member Susan Rich, Kelli Agodon and January Gill O鈥橬eil, feelings of angst, relief and, eventually, satisfaction bubbled up.

鈥淚 remember as a kid, other kids around me would talk about how their parents told them they were a gift from God and they believed it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was dumbfounded. I always knew babies came from people having sex, not God. The soul part though 鈥撯�� that鈥檚 a different question!鈥�

And, hence, the winning poem was born.

鈥淚 hope people understand the importance of having a creative outlet,鈥� Ngeth said. 鈥淗onestly, seeing my thoughts/feelings on paper helps me process myself 鈥撯�� moving forward from the past.鈥�

Although Ngeth began at 新加坡六合彩开奖while she was in high school as a Running Start student years ago, she didn鈥檛 complete her associate degree before high school graduation.

Between six and seven years later, she returned to 新加坡六合彩开奖during the pandemic and is on her way to finishing her associate degree in Visual Communications. She then hopes to continue at 新加坡六合彩开奖while pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Integrated Design.

鈥淭he Poetry Contest committee was unanimous in choosing this poem for first place,鈥� said Deborah Moore, a reference librarian at 新加坡六合彩开奖 and member of the college鈥檚 Poetry Contest Committee. 鈥淭he committee loved how Jenn鈥檚 poem is relatable to everyone, the sassiness of the language, and the melding of the sacred and profane.鈥�

Second place, with a prize of $150, went to Burien resident Rosie Pound for 鈥淔or Kiara and Karly – The Angels over Ballyhoo.鈥� And third place and $100 went to Kent resident William Kuch for 鈥淲ar Memory Lane.鈥�

Six others received honorable mention and $75 each:

• 鈥淔orgiveness鈥� by Gianna Campos
• 鈥淚鈥檓 from鈥︹�� by Yesphir Drozdyuk
• 鈥淢y Two Cents鈥� by Ailin Godinez
• 鈥淥ld Photographs鈥� by K. Huynh
• 鈥淏ig Words鈥� by Alivia Joyce
• 鈥淐rumbled Anger鈥� by Bethany Tuchardt
• 鈥淵arn鈥� by Jana Velsquez

The contest required students to submit poems that were no more than 20 lines and limited the poet to three submissions. In addition to cash prizes, each student will be celebrated during National Poetry Month in April at an in-person reception and reading on April 28.

The poetry contest鈥檚 prize money is sponsored by the , and the contest is made possible through support from , the , 新加坡六合彩开奖Art & Humanities division, the , and .

To read the poems and watch videos of the student poets reading their poems, visit Highline鈥檚 .

Questions?
Deborah Moore: (206) 592-3518, dmoore@highline.edu

Jenn Ngeth’s winning entry, 鈥淪elf Portrait as Incense During Worship鈥�

Self Portrait as Incense During Worship

By Jenn Ngeth

You take a light; that blistering flame
to the tip of my head鈥撯��

the start to my demise.

The countless ashes of my kin succumb
to your prayers; sacrificed for the absence of holy statues鈥撯��

mythology turned into worship.

As I’m propped in rice grains, burning,
in my soon-to-be coffin; I permeate into the air鈥撯��

transpiring your wishes to made-up entities.

As if the windpipes in your esophagus
were created by gods

& not from the action of human fucking.