Junior wins first place in writing competition at state level

On March 18, during the beginning of second period orchestra, junior Akash Kar was checking his e-mail on his Blackberry phone when he saw a message that English teacher Natasha Ritchie had sent him earlier in the morning. After a brief “be right back” to orchestra instructor Michael Boitz, Kar dashed to his car, drove home, printed out the e-mail, stuck it on his dash and read the message as he drove back.

He had just won first place at the state level for Letters About Literature (LAL), a national literature-based competition in which students from grades 4 through 12 submitted letters addressed to authors whose books had significantly impacted the students’ lives.

“I got an e-mail from Mrs. Ritchie at 5 a.m.,” Kar said, “and it was titled ‘Super yay,’ and I believe—I think I remember; I’ve read it about 20 times—it said, ‘Um, you’ve just won for state,’ and there was no other way around it. It was a big shocker, and I never really expected to win it. It’s a state level thing, it’s a big deal, and it’s a huge honor.”

Another student of Ritchie’s, junior Michael Chang, also placed in the top 10 for California.

The program, sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, intends to promote reading and literature in the lives of students with the competition. The winner for each state has the chance to win on a national level and have an LAL Reading Promotion Grant distributed to a library of his or her choice, according to the LAL website.

Kar had first written the letter as a practice write, a bi-monthly assignment for English 11 Honor students to hone their writing skills. For that particular assignment, students had a choice between a prompt related to the book they were currently discussing in class or the LAL prompt, according to Ritchie. She and English teacher Suzanne Herzman submitted their students’ letters to LAL.

“I must admit the news of Akash winning made my day and brought a few tears,” Ritchie said. “I can’t say I was surprised, as the letter is terrific.”

Akash was hesitant about submitting his letter at first, but encouragement from his peers and mentors eventually convinced him to join the competition.

“I turned [my letter] in as a practice write, and I showed it to some friends, and they said, ‘This is really good, you should turn it in [to LAL],’ and I was like, ‘No, I can’t, I can’t,’” Kar said. “I emailed it out to Mrs. Ritchie—she was out on maternity leave, and she sent it back, saying, ‘Akash, I have tears in my eyes right now. Don’t change a thing,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, that means I’ve got to turn it in.’”

In his letter, Kar wrote about “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel detailing the relationships between an immigrant Bengali couple and their son, Gogol, who is caught between living life as an American or adhering to his family’s native traditions.

“‘The Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri is by far my favorite book,” Kar said. “[Lahiri] really did change my life, and her book moved me in so many ways I couldn’t begin to describe.”

Ritchie commended Kar’s writing style and approach to the assignment.

“Akash’s letter is amazing; it is very well written and quite moving,” Ritchie said. “He uses a variety of writing techniques to create a moving piece.”

No matter the outcome of the competition, Ritchie will have pride in Kar’s stellar achievements.

“I think Akash has a strong chance at the national level; I am proud of him no matter what,” said Ritchie. “It is not really about ‘winning,’ but being recognized for great writing.”