English Department Poetry Contest

2024 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST

Theme: Artificial Intelligence

Robot hand reaching for a human hand

Funded by the Cerritos College Foundation

Theme: Artificial Intelligence

Write a poem about artificial intelligence (AI), which is traditionally defined as computers, robots, or applications (like search engines, CAPTCHA, voice recognition, etc) that can perform human tasks. You can also expand the meaning of artificial intelligence beyond the traditional definition. Think outside the box, but please do not use AI to write your poem. Some ideas:

  • love in the time of AI
  • our relationship to AI
  • how AI affects how we interact with each other and the world
  • how we construct knowledge/our worldview using AI
  • robot love

Prizes: 1st place ($125), 2nd place ($75), 3rd place ($50) + publication on the English department website

Deadline: April 30th (11:59 pm)

Submit

2023 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST

Theme: Praise

Colorful confetti falling down with a teal background

Winners

1st Place:"Ode to Depression" by Issac Cordova

2nd Place:"To the Struggler" by Angel Mejia

3rd Place:"ode to joy" by Frederick Ynclino

HM:"Ode to God" by  Jatarri Webb

2022 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST

Theme: Love and War

Barbed wire fence containing heart shape

Winners

1st Place: "roots" by Miles Enriquez-Morales

2nd Place: "To the Rotten Backseat Pumpkins" by Ash Arias

3rd Place: "Illusion Died" by Michelle Godoy

HM: "Another World" by Luis Garza

2021 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST

Theme: The Last Year

The world is temporarily closed

(Photo by Edwin Hooper)

Winners

1st Place: "The Afterlife Is Just Reliving Your Childhood" by Jessi Jarrin

2nd Place: "Upon Checking the News on a Friday" by Willie Robert Heredia

3rd Place: "The World Tastes Our Blood (In Tribute to Mahmoud Darwish)" by Adelia Gregory

Honorable Mention: "Chica Esperanza" by Ivan Hernandez


2019 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST 

Theme: Identity

 Flowers growing out of a person's neck

Winners 

1st Place: “P-problem in the Meadow” by Daniel Orona

2nd Place: Untitled by Marilyn Ramirez

3rd Place: “A Friend at the End of the World” by Leiza Castillo

Honorable Mention: “Dissociative” by James Shawe

 

2018 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST 

Theme: Boundaries

 Hand breaking through fishtank

Winners 

1st Place: "My, What Voice You Have" by Jessi Jarrin

2nd Place: "Is It Stockholm Syndrome?" by Meztli Morales

3rd Place: Untitled by Laura Rosen

Honorable Mention: "Lady of Belen" by Maria De Jesus Antunez

 

2017 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST 

Theme: Oppression

 "Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence."

--Audre Lorde

 Girl with mouth covered with tape

WINNERS

1st Place:“Offering” by Suzan Ramirez

2nd Place: “Pumpkin Pie” by Jessi Jarrin

3rd Place: “Beautiful Girl” by Jordan Warren

Honorable Mention: "Agoraphobia" by Eric Greilach

 

2016 This is Poetry ENGLISH DEPARTMENT POETRY CONTEST 

Theme: Food

“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”

    --Emily Dickinson

 Emily Dickinson with the top of her head blown off

Winners 

1st Place: "The First Bite" by Jessi Jarrin

2nd Place: "El Posole de Abuela" by Karla Enriquez

3rd Place: "The Ice Cream Man" by Kimberly Salazar

Honorable Mention: "What Rhymes with Banana?" by Tahshae Catching