Courant Article On Jan. 19 Young Writers Event

BOOKS

By CAROLE GOLDBERG
www.courant.com
Jan. 7, 2006


The kickoff program for the 10th annual young writers competition sponsored by IMPAC and the Connecticut State University system will take place Jan. [19] at Naugatuck High School.

Teachers, students and members of the public are invited to attend the event, which will begin at 6 p.m. Prior winners of the competition, which includes prizes for prose and poetry, include Charlotte Crowe, a senior at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Canton High School, who was named state prose champion in 2005 for her short story "Korean Laundry," and Amy Ma, the 2001 state poetry champion. Ma, a graduate of Conard High School in West Hartford and Wesleyan University, is doing graduate work at Central Connecticut State University.

Established poets and writers, some of whom have been judges for the statewide contest, also will read from their works. They are Elizabeth Thomas, founder of UpWords Poetry, a program for young writers; Ravi Shankar, poet in residence and assistant professor of English at Central Connecticut State University; and Jon Andersen, a teacher whose collection, "Stomp and Sing," was published in 2005 by Curbstone Press. Also, Robin Cullen, one of the women from the York Correctional Institution who studied with author Wally Lamb and collaborated on "Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies From Our Imprisoned Sisters," will read.

The event will begin with a reception with music by the Jen Allen Jazz Combo in the cafeteria of the school, 543 Rubber Ave., Naugatuck.

The annual competition, which offers $16,000 in prizes and a chance for the two top winners to attend the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award ceremonies in June, has attracted about 3,500 young entrants and has distributed more than $135,000 since 1988. Poets and writers from each of the state's eight counties win $1,000 each and go on to compete for the top prize.

Forms for entering the competition, whose deadline is Feb. 1, have been mailed to all public, private and parochial secondary schools in Connecticut and also can be downloaded from the IMPAC-CSU Young Writers Trust website, www.ctyoungwriters.org. The trust, in collaboration with the literary journal Connecticut Review, is presenting the Jan. [19] event.

For information, visit the website or call 800-814-6931.