AHS Creative Writers, senior Natalie Vogt, and junior Izabella Jerger, placed in this year’s sijo competition sponsored by the Sejong Cultural Society and the Korea Institute at Harvard University. 

Vogt placed second and won $400 for this poem:

CNA

“Doing the dirty work,”

      they say about my kind of work.

If you saw the sorrow and sadness

      within their eyes and souls,

you too would do the “dirty work”

      to bring them a sliver of joy.

Jerger was an honorable mention and won $50 for her poem:

“Disgustingly, I stare at her. She’s so ugly. I hate her.

Frayed fingernails. Acne-covered skin. Chubby body. Stained teeth.

I despise her. I wish I could punch her. But then the mirror would shatter.”

You can view all of the winning sijos here.

You can find the winners here.

It took Vogt about 20 minutes to write her sijo after she figured out her topic. 

“Picking the topic for my poem was one of the hardest parts,” says Vogt.

 Later, Vogt did peer edits which took about 45 minutes. 

Vogt said, “I am very happy with my final product.”

Vogt was surprised by her placement. “I was very surprised, I have never considered myself to be a good writer so it caught me by surprise.”

Creative writing with Elizabeth Jorgensen was the teacher who introduced Vogt and Jerger to the competition.

Vogt says, “My job currently is being a CNA and this takes up a lot of my time.”

“I thought of something meaningful in my life, and my job is currently something I am passionate about. I like the fact that my work is truly making an impact on my community.”

 It took Jerger around a whole class period to write her sijo because of the planning and making sure it is written and worded how she wanted.

Jerger says she is completely satisfied with her completed work and is happy with how it turned out.

“I was honestly really surprised. I have never considered myself a good writer so to place so high in such a large competition is a big accomplishment for me,” said Jerger.

 “I was actually inspired by a poem I read that had a similar story. I  ended up using a similar plotline but changed many aspects to make it my own.”