From left, Dr Val O’Reilly (Kāi Tahu), winner of the alumni poetry section and Caellin (Monti) Rodgers, who won the alumni fiction section.
What do a science fiction story about the appearance of a strange object in London and a poem about the purchase of an e-bike have in common?
They are both alumni category winners of Writer 2023, the University of Otago’s annual creative writing competition, and are both (very different) takes on this year’s theme: The Getting of Wisdom.
2014 Music and Chemistry graduate Caellin (Monti) Rodgers won the alumni fiction section with The Guest, while 1980 English and Classical studies graduate Dr Val O’Reilly (Kāi Tahu) won the alumni poetry section with Kōrero on the getting of wisdom.
The pair were delighted to win alongside the other category winners:
Student poetry: Kim Cope Tait
(Runner up: Kathy Nam)
Student fiction: Sydney Rodriguez
(Runner up: Judah Song)
Staff poetry: Mandy Phipps-Green
(Runner up: Melissa Audeau)
Staff fiction: Molly Crighton
(Runner up: David Jenkins)
Alumni poetry: Val O'Reilly
(Runner up: Charissa Murphy)
Alumni fiction: Caellin (Monti) Rodgers
(Runners up: Anne Lim and Feby Idrus)
The full winning entries can be found here: https://www.otago.ac.nz/english-linguistics/programmes/writing/competition/writer-2023-winning-entries
Rodgers, who works in academic publishing in London, was inspired to write The Guest after reading War of the Worlds and Day of the Triffids.
“Without spoilers, both feature strange visitors that are at first treated with curiosity, but later turn out to be violent. I thought it was such a common trope in sci fi, and I wondered if that’s not really a reflection of how humans are rather than what an alien might be like.”
Her story stood out to this year’s judge, current University of Otago Burns Fellow Kathryn van Beek – who described it as a “well-structured, elegant and cleanly written story that uses the sudden appearance of a strange object (possibly from outer space) to explore questions about the human condition.”
“Businesspeople profit, politicians beat their chests, and journalists are distracted by more sensational news ... until even the people living in the orbit of the object just get used to it. The story raises questions about how we react to the unknown, and how we face change.”
Rodgers says she likes writing fiction for fun and escaping into ideas and letting the words and characters dictate the story.
“I play a lot of dungeons and dragons, where we work together as a group to tell a story and I enjoy the many surprises when writing alone and with others. I’m also in a writing group with many amazing and inspiring people which has been excellent for improving my writing!”
She says while this story is set in London, she writes a lot of pieces based in Dunedin, which makes her feel connected to home.
Poetry winner O’Reilly’s work is quite different – and uses the planned purchase of an e-bike for a “coming of aged” birthday as a way to explore the theme because, as she says, “apparently age and wisdom go together”.
Van Beek says she enjoyed the rhythm of O’Reilly’s poem.
“It has bounce, and there's a liveliness to the call and response elements.”
O’Reilly is an Executive Director of The Career Development Company, working with people and organisations who need support with their career journey.
“I have been growing into being a writer for 65 years and am enjoying the becoming. I write a monthly blog for the Ahu Jobs Career Hub.”
For the second year in a row, the contest was open to alumni in addition to staff and students, and both the turnout and standard were very high – with sex, murder and diarrhoea among the topics explored in the nearly 100 entries.
Van Beek says other ideas explored included the place of artificial intelligence in society, the wonders of the natural world, and of course, Barbie (or more specifically, Ken).
“After Ken, the tūī is the character that makes the most appearances in these lively and intelligent stories and poems, which demonstrate the incredible wealth of creative talent in the University of Otago whānau.”
She says different writers had different takes on the 2023 competition theme.
“For some, wisdom can be gained by paying attention to the world around us. For others, wisdom can be found within ourselves, or be passed down through generations. Many characters stumble in their quests to gain wisdom, making for playful and amusing scenarios.”
She says all of this year’s entrants should be proud of their work.
“Each piece is thoughtful, funny, lyrical, well-structured, or emotionally moving, and many pieces have all of these qualities. Though Artificial Intelligence is a common theme, the compassionate hearts and curious minds of these writers reassure me that computers are no match for us yet. Aldous Huxley wrote: “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” The writers in the University of Otago whānau can be commended for their X-ray words that reveal much about the human condition.”
The competition was established in 2019 as part of the University’s 150th celebrations. It is organised by University Publications Editor Lisa Dick and English and Linguistics Programme Senior Teaching Fellow Nicola Cummins and supported by University Book Shop, Otago University Press, Dunedin City of Literature, Otago Access Radio and the Otago Daily Times.