48th Annual Literary Contest

Last Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at General Studies at the University ofPuerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus took place the 48^th Annual Literary Contest Ceremony. This ceremony was dedicated to the life of Mark Wekander, a professor, a novelist, a poet, and someone who was very loved by all in the English Department. During the ceremony some students read Mark’s poems and a professor and friend analyzed them. The winners of the contest were also announced in this ceremony, the name of the student and of the work was mentioned and the first place of each section, poetry, essays, and short stories, read their work to the audience.

                The third and first places of the essay category were two of my classmates, and the first place is a member of my group in the class. Her essay was titled Do witches get financial aid? In the poetry category the winner’s work was titled “Godly Poet” and the short story first place winner was Do you got room for one more troubled soul? This last author didn’t read her story to the audience. The fist places in each category were female.

The mark Wekander’s poems that were read by students to honor his life and his work were: “”Lista”, “In Search of Here”, “Bodies and Souls Party”, “Driving On”, and “Accidents”. The main themes present in these poems were here and there, photography, animals in our life, and life and death. The professor explained all of these themes in the selection of poems made to honor Mark’s life.

After the ceremony was over there was an artistic presentation, in which two general studies students danced salsa, a social gathering with food and drinks. The ceremony was very touching, organized, and formal. The activities were to honor Mark’s life and to recognize the literary works of the students.