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WYAK 

Write Young Alaska

 

We Have Poetry Contest Winners
Congratulations! 

Middle School Winners

First Place 

Äiti {Mother}
Know this, dear:
To open your wings 
Let the light in,
Don’t let the world know, 
That you’re wearing thin.
Whisper to the wind.
It travels west,
Into my ears,
Filling my chest.
Hide with shadows,
They’ll befriend your soul,
Heal your mistakes,
Burn them like coal.
Enclose your hands,
Shut your eyes,
Let me murmur
Lullabies.
Remember now, dear:
The hook I throw 
Into the sea,
Is not to stop you,
But to anchor me.
----by Alex Campbell

  

Second Place:

Hula

Her love for the dance is as courageous as her heart;

For she is a hula girl at heart;

Her hands can represent the calmest seas;

To the trade winds down Makaha Valley;

When she dances her hula can tell a story with the graceful

Way she moves and sways it seems as if she’s the a palm tree

On a breezy summers day gracefully swaying away;

As the ipo begins the beat she starts to move her feet;

The beat of the ipo matches her heartbeat in every single way;

As she says the ancient oli all her troubles melt away; 

For she knows her amakua are there to guide her through the ancient mele;

While she dances her whole world changes, it becomes peaceful and right;

She is a hula girl alright;

She can tell a story without opening her lips but by her hands and the simple sway of her hips.

-Lehualani
 I am Hawaiian. I am 15 and currently attending Bartlett Highschool. I have lived in Alaska for 5 years now. I moved up here from hawaii where i was born and raised. 
My entry is about hula. I wrote this because I believe people should know what goes through the ind of someone dancing the ancient art of hula. I also wrote this because it captured my culture in an instant!

 

 

Poetry Contest High School and Grade School Winners?
There were not enough entries to judge these categories.

Announcing winners from My Alaska contest...Congratulations!!!

Middle Grade
1st: "Stikine-My Home" by Kayla Hay
2nd: "Forget Me Not" by Sarah Chen

 High School
1st: "Old Man O' the Mountain" by Trevor Woodhouse
2nd: "The North" by Paige Street

Check out the results and read their work in Alaska Out Loud by CLICKING HERE.

 

The WYAK 2011-12 Anthology is Now Available

It's Only $6. Click Here to Purchase
Click Here to view as a PDF








What's WYAK?

We write stories, novels, poetry, comics, and rap.
Enter a WYAK contest.
Take a WYAK workshop (teen, middle grade, kids) to build your skills.
Go to an event to share your work.
Check out Alaska Out Loud Zine.