The English Department is happy to announce the three winners of the 4th annual McKinnon Poetry Contest for undergraduate students at UNM.
The 3rd place prize of $250 is awarded to Hyler Bowman (who asked us not to picture her) for her poem “On Reliving Trauma.” Bowman is a third year UNM student who has recently started writing poetry despite the absolute mind-numbing fear that comes with writing poetry. She is studying English and Women’s studies and also writes fiction and nonfiction. She has four dogs and hates cucumbers.
The 2nd place prize of $500 is awarded to Adilene “Ady” Ruiz-Olivas for her poem “The Seven Deadly Sins that I Am.” Ruiz-Olivas is a senior at the University of New Mexico and is studying Marketing Management. Although she never pursued a career in writing, it has always been one of her greatest passions. Her poetry was first published when she was 11 years old and that moment has since solidified her love for writing. She hopes to write and publish a novel someday.
The 1st place prize of $1000 is awarded to Joseph T. Page II for his poem “Broken Arrow.” Page is an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico dual-majoring in History and English. Originally from Las Cruces, he and his family now call Albuquerque their home. His winning poem “Broken Arrow” reflects on the following event: During 2017-2018, Page assisted in finding family members of the deceased B-29 crew. In April 2019, the families were reunited at the crash site in the Manzano foothills. Prior to this meeting, the families were not given details of the incident that took the lives of their loved ones.
Our gratitude goes out to poet and donor Karen McKinnon whose generous donation makes this yearly award possible!
