Scissortail 2019: The Poster

From the Director, 2019

Welcome to the 14th annual Scissortail Creative Writing Festival.

On behalf of so many: sponsors, colleagues, administration, students and volunteers, it is my pleasure to welcome to you Ada, Oklahoma and East Central University. This year we welcome 19 new voices to the festival. I hope all of us, new and returning writers, guests and workers, greatly enjoy our time together.

A stanza from a Stanley Kunitz poem has been speaking to me:

The sands whispered, Be separate,
The stones taught me, Be hard.
I dance, for the joy of surviving,
On the edge of the road.
(Stanley Kunitz, “An Old Cracked Tune” Passing Through: The Later Poems)

And a couple of lines from my poem “In Kyoto” (in my latest collection, Not Quite Pilgrims):
“not unlike Basho, making something / that may outlive itself.”

As writers, as teachers, as citizens trying to make a positive difference, we sometimes find ourselves “on the edge of the road” – on the margins of a consumer society. I hope the gathering together at the festival inspires us all to continue the good work of making something / that may outlive itself.

See you soon!
Ken Hada

Winners of the 15th Annual R. Darryl Fisher Creative Writing Contest

Poetry Winners
First Place: Olivia Robertson, "Nannerl," Norman HS (Instructor: Sara Doolittle)
Second Place: Checotah Fulks, "Witness of Rust," Purcell HS (Liz Leonard)
Third Place: Amanda Baskett, "Sexual assault feels like a rite of passage," Edmond Memorial HS (Kelly Bristow)

Honorable Mentions:
Evie Sondag, "At the End," Norman HS (Sara Doolittle)
Brenna Sawney, "Love is a Weapon," Sallisaw HS (Sarah Wilson)
Mia Di Renzo, "Untitled," Lawton HS (Terence Freeman)
Jacob Compton, "Past Tense," Lawton HS (Terence Freeman)
Adam Nunez, "The Contract," Epic Charter Schools (Richard Filbert)
Trinity Whitehead, "Chasm," Ada HS (Megan Moiser)
Ariana Delarosa, "Shoes/Heart," Norman North HS (Brent Taylor)
J.D. Wright, "Revelation 13," Altus HS (Jessica Robinson)
Kyle Marshall, "Ripples," Edmond Memorial HS (Kelly Bristow)
Zoe Hamilton, "Stockholm Syndrome," Edmond Memorial HS (Kelly Bristow)

Fiction Winners:
First Place: Rachel Owen. “The Skeleton of the Daylily.” Norman (Sara Doolittle)
Second Place: Evan Boothe. “The Tones of the Void.” Washington (Dawn Lanham)
Third Place: Amanda Baskett. “If You Love Something.” Edmond Memorial (Kelly Bristow)

Honorable Mentions:
Rachel Black. “The Final Frontier.” Grove (Terri Guthridge)
Perrisa A. Borders. “All Smiles.” Santa Fe South Pathways (Michelle Manning)
Georgia Campbell. “Siren Song.” Norman (Sara Doolittle)
Hayleigh Carrillo. “Ecstasy.” Santa Fe South Pathways (Michelle Manning)
Olivia Clayton. “Late Night Drive.” Tulsa Union (Henry Cribbs)
Chassidy Dixon. “Lost Justice.” Marlow (Ann Field)
Harper Keppel. “Mysterious Letters from X.” Norman (Sara Doolittle)
Megan Roach. “The Story of a Yankee.” Washington (Dawn Lanham)
Jamie Slaton. “A Rebel at Heart.” Santa Fe South Pathways (Michelle Manning)
Hayley Steele. “The Key.” Norman North (Brent Taylor)