KUCHING – Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus PhD student Dewi Widyastuti has won this year’s Swinburne Poetry Competition.
Dewi’s poem ‘Without a Hello, Without a Goodbye’ took first place among the 36 poems that were submitted by 12 students from across the university’s courses, faculties and schools.
Judges Cassandra Eva Lau, Norizan Tan and Dr Christina Yin, language lecturers from Swinburne Sarawak’s School of Foundation Studies, were unanimous in their praise for Dewi’s lyricism, imagery and heart-breaking honesty. Written to the theme of ‘Lessons of Life’, Dewi’s poem struck a poignant note as humanity strives to emerge from the shadows of the pandemic.
Bachelor of Computer Science student Lutfi Omar Mahmud Welton came in second with his poem ‘Finding Home’. He wrote his poem to the universal theme of ‘Love’. First semester Foundation (Engineering/Science) student Francis Lim Yong Khe took third place with his poem, ‘Growing Up’, written to his chosen theme of ‘Finding Peace in the State of Turmoil’.
The judges also awarded two consolation prizes to Mechanical Engineering student Bernice Ting Jing Shuen and Biotechnology student Summayya Shabbir. Ting, who is also Swinburne Sarawak Student Council President, penned the poem ‘Flowers’ to her chosen theme of ‘Thoughts’ while Summayya wrote ‘Change’, a heartfelt poem to the theme of ‘Loss’.
Dr Christina Yin (top right) leads the conversation with the poets of the three winning poems and two consolation prizes.
Speaking at the online prize-giving ceremony on behalf of Pro Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Ir Prof Lau Hieng Ho on 15 June, Information Resources Manager Adeline Sophia Ho praised the participants for daring to put their creativity, thoughts and emotions to pen, creating touching and thought-provoking poems.
Following feedback from the judges at the online prize-giving ceremony, the writers of the winning poems read their poems aloud and then joined Dr Yin for a ‘Conversation with the Poets’ session, during which the students shared their motivations, inspiration and creative process.
The School of Foundation Studies and Information Resources jointly organise the Swinburne Poetry Competition and the Swinburne Creative Writing Competition every year to encourage the university’s students to express their thoughts and feelings in creative poems and short stories.
This year, the Poetry Competition ran from 18 April to 20 May. Students were required to choose a theme upon which to base their three poems. All in all, 12 students took part this year, with some submitting poems under two themes. Every participant received a certificate and exciting door gifts from the Swinburne Sarawak Library. The writers of the top three poems won cash prizes of RM150, RM100 and RM50 respectively.
In line with the competition’s aims, the final stanza of Dewi’s winning poem is shared below:
Lessons in life from death,
Love while you still breathe,
Care while you still have time,
Don’t ever say,
“If only I knew you wouldn’t be here anymore,
I would have said a proper goodbye.”
A goodbye can never be properly uttered,
when death comes without a hello,
and leaves without a goodbye.