2024 Sejong Writing Competition
Sijo Winners
| Adult Division | Pre-college Division | |
|---|---|---|
| First Place | Gregory Tudor |
Karly Turinske Hartland, WI (Elizabeth Joregensen) sijo |
| Second Place | David Jibson (tie) |
Alexandra Brunner Oconomowoc, WI (Terri Carnell) sijo |
Anne Marie Wells (tie) |
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| Third Place | Cynthia Pederson |
Evelyn Keefe Syracuse, NY (Mathew Phillips) sijo |
| Honorable Mention* |
Anna Accousti New Orleans, LA (Sarah Westfall) sijo |
|
Jerri Hardesty |
Ryleigh Glover Milwaukee, WI (Jung-Eun Lee) sijo |
|
Casey Lawrence |
Mary Evelyn Pearce Signal Mountain, TN (Chuck Newell) sijo |
|
Crista Penrose |
Conor Sharpe Lakewood, CO (Rush Daly) sijo |
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| Wesley Shelly Littleton, CO (Kari Newell) sijo |
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| Georgia Tilmont Hartland, WI (Elizabeth Jorgensen) sijo |
*Honorable Mention
( ) Teacher's name
Adult division
My name is Greg Tudor. I found out about this competition from my daughter who has been studying Korean for the past 4 years and has introduced me to many aspects of Korean culture. We decided to both enter the competition for fun.
I’m not a writer, so the lesson I learned while writing my sijo was that happy memories make the best (and easiest) sijo’s to write! My sijo is a true story about a day my 2yr old daughter came to work with me. She was the child mentioned in my sijo that was riding the elevator to my office that morning when she saw the monk.
My goal is to be a supportive and loving father that my daughter can be proud of. My daughter is my hero. I am constantly amazed by the incredible person she is every day.
I began reading and writing poetry seriously after retiring from a 35 year career in social work, most recently with a hospice agency. I am published in many online and print journals. My full length collection Protective Coloration was published by Kelsay Press.
I am managing editor of 3rd Wednesday Magazine, an independent quarterly journal of poetry, fiction and visual arts. I am a coordinator of The Crazy Wisdom Poetry Circle which organizes poetry readings and workshops in Ann Arbor, Michigan and serve on the board of the Poetry Society of Michigan. My author website is https://davidkjibson.com/
I was looking online for examples of Sijo poetry after reading one. In my search, I came upon the Sejong Cultural Society and the annual contest. I had been studying and writing Sijo for about a year, had written quite a few and was in the process of putting some of them into a chapbook to give away to friends. As I was worked on that project, I sorted through many old poems looking for pieces that might be adaptable to the Sijo form. I trimmed away about 80% of an old poem and did some rewriting to create an entirely new poem for my contest entry. It is the need for “compression” that most attracts me to Sijo.
That my poem was well received by the judges has affirmed for me that I have some understanding of the Sijo form and philosophy.My roots are in the mid-west so my poetic heroes include Ted Kooser, Jim Harrison, James Wright and Philip Levine.
I found this competition through an online blog that I follow.
The lessons I learned while writing my sijo for this event, - I wouldn't necessarily say it's a "lesson," but sijo requires the expansion of an idea within a condensed form so is a meditation in word economy.
My goal with poetry is to connect with other people and remind myself and others of our shared humanity.
My father will always be my hero. He was a great man, not because he was a millionaire or had a fancy job. He didn’t drive a luxury car or wear the best clothing. He did not hold rank, title, or office. He did not start a movement. He was a great man simply because he was kind.
Writing in any form—sonnet to sijo to senryu—is an instructive challenge and a way to understand more about various cultures. I have spent many years caregiving--most recently for my good husband and my mother, snatching bits of time to write. After their deaths, I found an odd solace in ancient Asian poetry. As a Teaching Artist with Kanas City Young Audiences, I searched for educational opportunities related to this interest and enrolled in an online sijo course offered by the Sejong Cultural Society. Currently I am enrolled in Poetry in the Classroom: Japan, a series of classes offered through Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA-NCTA). I write to learn. I teach to share what I’ve learned and to learn more.
Prior to an intense decade of caregiving, I had several chapbooks published, including Caught By Currents (Pudding House Press, 2009). This volume features my original nature prints along with poems, memoir and recipes. In addition to caregiving, teaching, writing and nature printing, I manage our century-old family farm in NE Kansas as a Tallgrass Prairie Restoration through a USDA Conservation Reserve Program. One of my heroes is George Washington Carver who worked tenaciously to improve the soil and thereby the lives of farmers as well as to promote environmentalism.
I believe I found this competition on WinningWriters.com, a website I often visit for great information. I have loved learning the rhythm and sense of moment in the sijo form. I read, studied, and practiced sijo over and over, until I felt I could give myself over to the flow of it. The result is always satisfying. I aspire to continue to live as a poet, embracing new forms and experiences, and I hope to leave something beautiful behind when I go.
I received a BS and MA at the University of Montevallo in Alabama, and I currently live in the woods of Alabama with my husband, Kirk, also a writer. We run the nonprofit poetry organization, New Dawn Unlimited, Inc. (NewDawnUnlimited.com).
I have had over 600 poems published, and have won more than 2200 awards and titles in both written and spoken word poetry. My hero was my mother. I'm only here because of the strength of her spine.
I discovered the contest through the tireless work of Erica Verrillo, who curates a monthly list of writing competitions and calls for submissions on her blog. I had never written a sijo before, but was intrigued by the formal constraints of the genre, and decided to give it a try for the first time with my poem, "I Count the Days Without You." After reading many examples of sijo, I got a feel for the unique rhythm of the form. The subject matter was inspired by the fact that it is a Leap Year, which brought about many discussions about the calendar. I was also thinking about the fact that the human menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, the length of a lunar month, and that there are thirteen lunar months per year. There are many important women who I consider heroes in my life, but the one I wish to honour here is Maya Angelou, whose poems never cease to light a fire in me.
Casey Lawrence is a novelist, essayist, and poet from Ontario, Canada. She has a PhD in English literature from Trinity College Dublin and works as a freelance editor while pursuing her creative writing. She published her third YA novel with JMS Books in 2023.
I am an avid reader, life-long writer, and current World History teacher at RHAM High School in Connecticut. While developing interdisciplinary lessons for my students, I stumbled across the Sejong Cultural Society and the Sijo form. While all forms of poetry are captivating in their own right, Sijo's structure and brevity is a unique format that is accessible and impactful to all who wish to practice this poetic style. In writing my piece, I focused on the most powerful force I know: love. Through the history lessons that I teach each day, I have come to the deep understanding that there are undeniable truths in life including the unconquerable nature of the human spirit, the far-reaching impacts of companionship in times of darkness, and the power of storytelling to change lives.
While writing "Picnic Promises", I contemplated what aspects give my existence the greatest meaning. I quickly passed by the traditional measures of success to the final conclusion that no time spent on love or with those we cherish is ever wasted.
Poetry is a tool that has transcended time to help both authors and readers learn more about themselves and their place in this world. I plan to continue to share my love of literature with students and empower them to express themselves for decades to come. As tremendously humbled as I am by this honor, I know that my own achievements wouldn't have been possible without my family that gifted me with an unquenchable love of learning, the phenomenal teachers that raised my talents, and the countless inspirations that I have drawn from other authors. In particular, I send unlimited gratitude to the modern poet Stephen Pozzato for the message of hope in his epic, Viridian, and for encouraging me with the following message which I, in turn, pass on to every reader here as their invitation to grab a notebook, begin writing without reservation, and accept the challenge that "This place for poems, this lined book of verse / Should fill up quickly, for better or worse!"
Pre-college division
My name is Karly Turinske and I am currently a senior at Arrowhead High school in Hartland, Wisconsin. I love animals, running, cooking, spending time with family, trap shooting, hunting, being outdoors, and making art. I plan on majoring in Biology so I can pursue a career in life sciences.
I first heard about this Sijo Competition from my Creative Writing teacher Ms. Jorgensen.
I have never heard of Sijo before this class. When we began our unit on Sijo, I was intrigued by the style, format, and endless possibilities associated with these poems. I learned that the best poems are written from the heart and that a poem doesn’t have to be long to convey a desired message. I also learned how to incorporate my thoughts and feelings into a limited amount of words.
In the future, I would like to enter more writing competitions like this one to improve my writing and creativity.
My personal hero is my mom. She is always there for me and pushes me to do my best.
My name is Alexandra Brunner and I am currently a junior at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, singing, reading, and baking! Currently, I plan on majoring in nursing, hopefully at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI.
I first heard about this Sijo Competition from my Creative Writing teacher Mrs. Carnell. As we worked on Sijo poems throughout class, I found myself more and more fascinated with the structure and simplicity of Sijo poems, while also involving both subtle and dramatic plot twists! I have discovered that Sijo poems are definitely one of my most favorite types of poetry.
My personal hero is my younger sister, Peyton. Through all of our ups and downs in life, we have always stuck together and she has been my rock. Whenever I feel sad or angry about something, I know that I can always go to her and she will without doubt make me laugh with real joy. I could not imagine a more supportive, generous, and caring best friend on our journey together through life!
My name is Evelyn Keefe, and I am a senior at Jamesville-DeWitt High School in Syracuse, New York. I was introduced to this competition through my English teacher, Mr. Phillips, and he encouraged my class to submit a sijo that we had worked on outside of school. I enjoyed reading the various examples of sijos that we were given in class and I wanted to try to write one on my own. In writing my sijo, I learned to use imagery effectively, which was important because of the limited words used in this form.
Outside of class, I enjoy reading, running, and listening to music. My biggest role model is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, because she accomplished so much and always stayed true to her morals to make the world a better place.
In the future, I plan to attend a SUNY college and major in meteorology, chemistry, or another physical science.
My name is Anna Accousti and I am a junior at Louise S. McGehee, an all girls school in New Orleans, Louisiana. I learned about this contest through my creative writing teacher, Ms. Westfall, who introduced the Sijo structure to our small class and encouraged us to enter our works. The poem structure seemed simple at first, but as I began trying to follow the syllable requirements, I learned that there is so much complexity behind writing poems like the Sijo.
I often enjoy exercising my creative side through making videos, playing piano, and performing on stage. I wrote about this love I have for creative expression in my poem, but I also decided to tie in an uncomfortable experience I share with many girls around the world. My all-girls school encourages exploration of themes related to the female role, which influenced my decision to incorporate such themes in my writing. The creative writing class that I am in has truly allowed me to express this version of myself, and I am forever grateful for my encouraging classmates and teacher.
I am still figuring out what path I would like to go down in the future, but I am certain that I want to continue expressing my talents and creativity- realms in which my school has done a great job building me up. I would say that my hero is my mom, who is a freelance writer, and always encourages and inspires me to nurture my love for writing too.
Hi, My name is Ryleigh Glover. I am a 3rd grader at MacDowell Montessori in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I learned about this competition from my teacher Ms. Lee. Some lessons I learned from this competition is to be creative, expressive and confident in myself.
My goal is to write again next year for this competition. If I had to choose a hero it would be my mom, she inspires me to be bold, confident and caring. She shows me that anything is possible if I believe.
My name is Mary Evelyn Pearce, and I am a Senior at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. I love music, art, dogs, writing, and I am a coxswain on my school’s rowing team!
I found out about this competition through my English teacher, who encouraged my English class to submit our sijo poems. I was completely unfamiliar with sijo poems, so I learned a lot! In writing my sijo, I was challenged to communicate a deeply personal issue in my life in a concise yet artistic manner.
In the future, I hope to be a nurse practitioner after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and I hope that I will make my family proud.
Speaking of family, I wrote my sijo about my personal hero: my grandmother. As a little girl, I spent the summers at her home in south Georgia, where I learned to cook, garden, and paint. More importantly, though, my grandmother taught me kindness, poise, and joy.
I feel so honored that people enjoyed my poem. I would like to thank my English teacher, Mr. Newell, the Sejong Cultural Society, and my grandmother, Betty.
My name is Conor Sharpe and I was introduced to this competition by my 9th grade Eastern Civilizations teacher, Mr. Rush Daly. I got to learn what a sijo poem is and the history surrounding it.
My goal is to keep producing and learning about art, especial visual arts. One key individual I have always viewed has a hero to me is my elementary school art teacher, Mr. Joe Adducci, who is a beloved teacher of many and also owns a stained glass business.
My East Civ teacher recommended us to give it a shot.
Poetry doesn't have to be hard, it can be just whatever pops into your mind while you're in the mood.
I have always had an interest in pretty much all forms of art (Poetry, Music, Drawing), but I have decided I want a more science-related career and wish to pursue a degree in physics. However I still love to do various arty things, and I'm super happy I managed to get such a high ranking in this competition.
As for my hero? I don't really know. I'm tempted to say my Dad, but that seems perhaps a bit too cliche. I'm gonna say science. It's an endless and incredible field that opens endless possibilities, pushing the limits of everything. One of my favorite quotes is "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools" - Napoleon Bonaparte
My name is Georgia Tilmont and I am from Hartland, Wisconsin. I found this competition from my teacher of Creative Writing, Ms. Jorgensen. She taught our class about this unique style of writing I had never heard of before and allowed us to flourish with it. I learned that there's more than one style of writing to be able to express yourself.
Next year I am attending Indiana University-Bloomington to major in Biology and minor in Spanish and Sociology on a pre-medical track to become a Neonatologist! I consider my parents my heroes because they have taught me so much and have worked so hard for my sister and me.