Citizens: Activism, Poetry & Art

(A Creative Contest for First-Year Students)

In our 2018 Eckerd College Summer Reading, Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine uses a combination of poetry, prose, images, and videos to challenge readers to think about the deep roots of American racism and – at least indirectly – what might be done to remove them once and for all.

As a way to begin a campus-wide discussion about the role of the humanities and arts in inspiring social change, the General Education Committee invited all first-year students to submit original creative works on the theme of “Citizens: Activism, Poetry & Art,” which will also serve as an organizing theme for all 2018-2019 College Program Series Events. Submissions in this contest were divided into three categories: art, poetry, and multimedia.

We invite you here to view a collection of the contest entries that a small faculty panel deemed worthy of special recognition – including a few designated as “contest winners.” We are sincerely grateful for all student submissions, and also to the Office of Student Affairs for their sponsorship of the contest.