One of the most difficult parts of writing and creating poetry, according to senior Sanjana Chetia, is trying to think of the perfect word to illustrate her works but failing to find it. With time and effort, though, she managed to overcome the difficult process and create outstanding poetry.
Under the instruction of retired Saratoga English teacher Judith Sutton, seniors Chetia and Darisha Jhutty won multiple awards from the National League of American Pen Women’s (NLAPW) prestigious national writing contest. The two were recognized for their poetry submissions and later presented their poems in a televised performance.
Chetia won Honorable Mentions for her poems titled “NIGHTMARE” and “Haven” and first place for her poem “Silhouettes,” in the Youth Poetry Category. Jhutty won two Honorable Mentions for her poems “The Summit” and “The Bridge” and an Honorable Mention in prose for her piece “Unmasked.”
For both Chetia and Jhutty, each of their three winning works was written during their different years of studying poetry with Sutton.
Sutton, who now teaches a private class called Poetry Power, has been teaching poetry to Chetia and Jhutty for the past three years. The program is based on the award-winning curriculum, Creative Writing: Poetry, that Sutton created while teaching here.
The competition called for submitting works "’that [addressed] soul-making in innovative and expanded expressions,’ as expressed by the NLAPW in the prompt for this annual contest,” Sutton said.
“Studying intensive poetry with Ms. Sutton has really helped me work on my writing,” Jhutty said. “My inspiration is really from daily stresses from my life, and each and every piece just relieves stress. Often themes in my writing involve some soul-making or searching for a journey, which I thought was perfect for entering this contest.”
On March 25 at the Koret Auditorium in San Francisco, Chetia and Jhutty read their winning selections with other performers. In preparation for this, Chetia worked hard to dramatize her reading in order to capture the listeners.
“Reading onstage felt more like drama than anything else, even though when writing the poems I was only thinking about the literary, not dramatic, aspects of poetry,” Chetia said. “Luckily, my poems translated to performance well enough.”
According to Chetia, the Awards Reading featured many excellent pieces in all different genres of writing, from flash fiction to humor.
The presentation was also televised on a local San Francisco channel, which “was very nerve-wracking, but also definitely exciting,” according to Jhutty.
“Our girls considered it an honor to read with other fine writers in many categories, some coming from as far away as Boston and Michigan,” Sutton said. “Both Chetia and Jhutty presented their reading with outstanding professionalism, which altogether created much interest in the material.”
Jhutty said that “the experience of presenting with and for so many adults was very rewarding.”
Chetia met many writers after the speaking event, and claimed that it was an informative experience, because many of them had “years of experience to share.”
“I am so grateful to have had the experience of reading at the Awards Ceremony,” Chetia said. “It's not often that I meet other writers or poets, much less from all over the country and in all kinds of genres.”
