My poem “Where Are You Really From?” won first prize in the poetry category of Empower Her* Voice‘s 2021 Creative Writing Contest on the theme of Stereotypes and Perceptions.
According to their website, “EmpowerHer*Voice is a platform that spotlights the innovative vision and lived experiences of people of marginalised genders worldwide. Our platform brings together artists, activists, and academics who are all engaged in a common mission: to produce novel and creative ideas with the potential to reshape our shared reality.”
Judge Cheryl Buchanan, founder and executive director of Writers Without Margins, commented:
“From its captivating first line, People are rarely satisfied with Massachusetts, which leads the reader all over the globe and back, this poem is a reclamation and a ride through our geography, our history, and our collective quest to identify, categorize, and size up one another based on appearance, and perceptions of class, education, accent, and reflections of our selves. Effectively, the speaker traces heritage and lineage (alternating stories and suspicions) through landscapes and snapshots with vivid and visceral detail.”
“Where Are You Really From?” will be published in the inaugural issue of EH*V’s literary journal, DIALOGUE. You can preorder a copy here.
Amanda Grace Shu 