Spring is here and April is National Poetry Month. What better time of the year to have the annual San Diego Mesa College Writing Contest and celebrate the creative spirit of writing and literature.

All students who attend Mesa College are eligible to submit their manuscripts for either

poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction and as a bonus submission, students can compete for the coveted Rosa Parks Commemorative Prize. There are 13 total awards available: first, second, third and honorable mention in each category as well as the Rosa Parks Commemorative Prize.

To honor Mrs. Park’s spirit of justice and equality, any Mesa student can submit their literary work, with her attributes and legacy in mind, through categories including, quiet strength, identity, empowerment, diversity and inclusion, and service.

Mesa English department teachers Jennifer Cost and Wendy Smith, who are Co-Coordinators of the Mesa Honors program in creative writing, are leading the way and trying to get students involved in the creative process. This allows students to use words and paper as their art form to explore their surroundings, capture the diversity of the student’s voices and participate in the campus community.

The award ceremony is a big event where student’s families and friends all partake in the successful achievements of the victor’s creative genius and watch as the selected winners recite their work in front of an audience.

All the winning entries will be published in an award-winning magazine, Mesa Visions, which is produced by the Mesa Honors English class with the help of Mario Lara and the Fine Arts department. The magazine is sold at the Mesa Bookstore which features literary works by the 249 honors students and artwork from the fine art department. There will be cash rewards for placing, but the amounts have yet to be determined.

Three poems may be submitted, each being no longer than fifty lines. The fiction and creative non-fiction submissions cannot exceed 1500 words total. All submissions for the writing contest should not have the name or CSID number of the participating student on the document, although the piece should have a title on the heading. Only email submissions are accepted.

In the text of the email please include: Name, Address, Phone Number, CSID Number, which Genre your competing in and don’t forget to signify if you wish your writing to be considered for the 2009 Rosa Parks Commemorative Prize.

All entries must be submitted by Friday, May 29 in a word document format and emailed to: mhonors@sdccd.edu