Tomorrow afternoon the East Hall Lounge will fill with the voices of the best writers and poets in the undergraduate school. The English Department's 2002 Student Prize Reading will feature readings by prizewinning fiction writers and poets from yearly literary contests.
The Kenyon Review's David Baker, from the American Academy of Poets, awarded junior Brittany Perham first prize in the poetry contest. Senior Scott Trudell received the Morse Hamilton Fiction Prize, judged by Stephen McCauley, author of The Object of My Affection and True Enough. In addition to being recognized as the best writers at Tufts, the winners will bring home checks for $100 each.
English students were notified of the contest several months ago. Announcements were posted in East Hall and any full-time student on the Medford campus was welcome to submit original work, though there was a dominance of submissions and winners from the English Department.
The contest has been around for many decades, in several forms. The poetry section is supported by the American Academy of Poets, which runs competitions nationwide. The Fiction Prize, however, is sponsored by the English Department itself, and chooses only one winner. Originally called the English Department Fiction Prize, it was recently renamed to honor Morse Hamilton, a memorable English professor who passed away several years ago.
The contest requirements are loose. For fiction, full-time student status is the only qualification. Professor Jonathan Strong, who runs the contest, said there have been pieces "from three pages to 30 pages." And what kind of work are they looking for? "The story that comes most alive," Strong said.
For poetry, the only restriction is that the poem (or group of poems) must be 200 lines or less. This rule exists so that the judge may evaluate each piece equally, and give each the time it deserves.
Trudell's winning fiction story is titled "Three in Jake's Car," and was previously published in Outbreath, though he revised it for the contest. "It's a high school story about a love triangle," said Strong. "But it is much more than that. It's a character story about growing up."
The live reading promises to be entertaining not only because it will feature Tufts' best writers, but because they will be reading the way they intended their stories to be read. The intonations and accents will be exactly on, and give a clearer idea about what the writer is trying to express to those listening.
While running rather close to dinner time, the Prize Reading, which begins at 5 p.m., should not last for more than an hour.
