gaithersburg book festival

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GAITHERSBURG BOOK FESTIVAL

Six Haikus To Summarize Earth

High school students all across Maryland, Virginia, and D.C submitted poems no longer than a page to the Gaithersburg Book Festival Poetry Contest. The deadline was February 21, 2019 by midnight. Poems were submitted electronically and the number of submissions were one per author. Twelve poems are going to be selected as finalists and they will be posted on the Gaithersburg Book Festival website prior to the book festival. The top three poems and a fan favourite will also be announced at the Gaithersburg Book Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2019. Furthermore, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and the fan favourite will receive $250, $100, $50 and $25 gift cards respectively. I managed to get an interview from one of the poets from my English 12 Honors class, Carolyn Brown. The poem was about global warming and its effects on future generations.

Poem originality

Carolyn doesn’t try to copy other author’s styles but instead speaks her mind and doesn’t just deliver to the reader what they want to read. Her poems are an extension of herself and each poem she writes has a little piece of her embedded in it.

Editing

Most authors try to censor themselves and thus taking out some parts of their pieces in order to not ruffle any feathers. Carolyn, however, did the opposite of that and actually added four stanzas to her poem in order to deliver a more clear message. She taps undisturbed waters and travels on untraveled ground, a mark of a true poet."I did not edit anything out , but I did add four stanzas for a more clear message."

Hidden messages

A lot of writers and poets and even musicians have a double meaning in their respective masterpieces. They often use words that can be interpreted differently and could mean multiple things but still deliver the same message without diverting from the main topic of discussion. Carolyn, however, is concise in her writing and means exactly what she says and in this case, writes. A principle that not so many writers abide by.

The price

Every artist has a price that they are willing to pay to improve their fields.Cara is no exception. She described writing as a hobby that she happens to enjoy and didn’t really care what anyone thought about her work whether it was good or bad. This is a path of internal validation which puts one on a different playing field not just as a writer but as a human being in general. Indeed there is something to be said about individuals who are content with what they have.

The Process

What went on behind the curtains in the making of the poem? Carolyn is a free writer and the most difficult stage in her writing process is the initial brainstorming of deciding a topic. What makes this stage even more challenging is when she, the writer has to conform to a certain theme or style. She prefers the freedom of expressing oneself as an artist and letting ones work speak for itself. The process that a writer goes through where they write multiple drafts which they sometimes throw away or may keep, depending on the writer, is the most important stage as the writer goes through hardship to acquire the desired result.

Writer’s Block

There it is, the dreaded writer’s block where the writer’s stream of ideas suddenly dry up leading them to get frustrated. It happens to all creative people, photographers, artists, poets and writers. In the past, there have been various ways of combating this stage of the project. Famous painters had muses who would spark creativity in their minds when things would run dry and this lead to most of their artistic work to be inspired by the same person. In Carolyn’s case if and when she experiences writer’s block she stops trying to write and focuses on something else. "If I have writer’s block I usually leave it alone and come back to what I’m writing later, sometimes leaving it alone will give me time to forget about it and let the creativity flow on its own."

sebastian osea

staff writer

Poetry as an art in itself

There has been a debate on whether poetry is an art in itself. It enables one to think before speaking and the quality depends on the weight of the words upon the reader. Carolyn does believe poetry as an art in itself but surprisingly isn’t her favourite type of art. She claims she is best at drawing and painting. Another surprising thing is that on the particular piece she wrote she didn’t conduct a lot of research and basically went off prior knowledge. Carolyn is a sincere and honest writer. Her words are powerful and engaging and her language is natural and effective. She is a unique writer who speaks her mind but in a relevant and effective way. She is a good example of an artist in not just poetry but in art in general.