A poem about Kosovo among the winners of the Asia House Student Writing Contest
Adonis Haxholli, 14, from Haverstock School in London, receives his Amazon vouchers after being told he has won the poetry prize in the Asia House Student Writing Competition 2016. He is seen with a representative from Eastside Educational Trust at a writing workshop held at Asia House
A poem about Kosovo among the winners of the Asia House Student Writing Contest
30 June 2016
A poem about Kosovo, a non-fiction piece about the societal female ‘ideal’ and a story about an unconventional group of fairies have been crowned winners of the Asia House Student Writing Competition 2016. The winners were announced at a writing workshop that took place at Asia House on Wednesday 29 June.
More than 500 young people from schools across the UK entered the competition, which was once again held in conjunction with Eastside Educational Trust. Taking place as a culmination of the Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival 2016, the students were asked to submit pieces of writing based on this year’s theme, ‘alternative voice’.
The competition, held annually, provides an opportunity for young people to explore other cultures around the world through literature, with the programme creating awareness of the work of Asian writers.
Anisa Rafaqat, 15, from Saltley Academy in Birmingham, won the non-fiction prize for her piece Reflection. A musing on the way beauty is presented in today’s society, she said she was inspired to write the piece because she believes that the image of ‘perfection’ presented to today’s young people is wrong. She said that social media perpetuates a view of beauty that is unattainable, and that no one should judge a book by its cover.
Rafaqat said that the workshop she participated in at Asia House made her realise that “if you like writing, just go for it. Follow your passions.” When asked whether she’d like to pursue a career in writing, she said: “I like to do a lot of writing in my spare time, so it’s certainly one of my options.”
Anisa Rafaqat, 15, from Saltley Academy in Birmingham
Adonis Haxholli, 14, from Haverstock School in London, won the poetry prize for Kosovo’s Loss. As a Kosovan, he said he wrote the poem to explore Kosovo as a changing country. He said he researched war, politics and history before putting pen to paper, saying he was keen to portray Kosovo as a “strong country” through his poem. Haxholli, who travels to Kosovo almost every year on holiday, said: “Kosovo may be broken, but it’s starting to heal.”
Haxholli also took part in the workshops at Asia House, run by Eastside. He said that participating in the sessions had opened his eyes to the range of diverse poetry that there is to read and hear, and that he realised that most poets don’t conform to a particular mould. He said: “It’s good to be unique. Being the same doesn’t make you stand out.”
The competition has made him want to write more poetry in the future, he added.
Adonis Haxholli, 14, from Haverstock School in London
Eliot Taylor from Hampstead School won the fiction prize for the story To be Faer. A surreal story that subverts the traditional fairy tale by questioning gender stereotypes, it is about a young girl who meets a group of seven fairies. However, the fairies do not look like those evoked in books, but rather are “balding strongmen”.
Wednesday’s event saw students from schools including Saltley Academy and Haverstock School meet with poet Mona Arshi and poet and performer Shane Solanki, who put on a multi-faceted performance at this year’s Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival, for a series of workshop sessions. During the workshops the groups came up with their own manifestos under the title ‘dreams for the future’.
Ahead of the competition, Eastside’s creative team held workshops across the country giving the students opportunity to explore aspects of Asia including its geographical expanse, diversity, issues and social mores. Countries of focus this year included China, Japan, India and Pakistan. The diasporic community globally was also explored. Following the workshops, the students were then invited to submit their pieces into the competition.
Eastside Educational Trust is a registered charity that aims to inspire young people from different backgrounds to discover their talents through creative workshops and sessions. Eastside encourages children of all ages and abilities to work together and to learn from one another, giving them the opportunity to build on what they learn at school, to acquire new skills and to have fun trying something new.
All the winning stories can be seen here.
All three winners received Amazon vouchers.
To read about last year’s prize, click here.
lucy.tomlinson@asiahouse.co.uk
Aung San Suu Kyi’s biographer Peter Popham will be at Asia House on Thursday 21 July to talk about his new book The Lady and the Generals: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s Struggle for Freedom. To find out more click here.
