Yale UCL Poetry competition announces winners for 2014
The winners of the 2014 Yale UCL Medical and Engineering Students' Poetry Competition have been announced. From the 121 entries received this year, first place was jointly awarded to two UCL students - Emily Van Blankenstein (UCL Medicine) for her poem entitled 'Morning' and Nicholas Taylor (UCL Civil Engineering) for his poem entitled 'Cliffs of Moher.' Joint second prize was awarded to Hana Tsuruhara (UCL Medicine), Antonio Seccomandi (UCL Engineering) and Jacob Izenberg (Yale Medicine). Commenting on her win Emily van Blankenstein said: "It's easy to let medicine dominate your identity - it felt almost rebellious to submit something with no reference to hospitals, patients, scars. Having the chance to express the side of me the hospital doesn't see was an unexpected joy." The contest, which was launched in 2011 by Professor John Martin (UCL Metabolism & Experimental Therapeutics), aims to stimulate creativity and expression amongst students and find the commonality of experience through the use of poetry. A volume of the best poems from the competition is planned to be published in the coming months. The winning entries to the 2014 Yale UCL Medical and Engineering Students' Poetry Competition: Emily van Blankenstein - Morning My body knows to wake before the alarm, - Pull her in closer; pray to god I die first. I'm jerked from solemnity by stirring in my arms, - She smiles before her eyes open and my sun rises.
