Honourable Mention in the 12 and younger age category – Wadadli Pen Challenge 2016
Author’s comment: “My cousin is about my cousin who lives with me and all the things she has done so far and why I look up to her.”
Judge’s comment (positives only*): “Something can be made of this story …”
Note: Though only the positives are highlighted here, in keeping with the development goals of Wadadli Pen, all long listed entries are returned to the author with the judge’s note – both positives and negatives – for revision. Congrats to Avriel. Keep working on your craft; keep valuing your voice and your art. – JCH
Avriel Walters, 2015 prize giving.
Here now is My Cousin by Avriel Walters, an 11-year-old Mary E. Piggott student who also loves to dance and sing, and who dreams of being a captain, and who in 2015 was named one of Wadadli Pen/Best of Books Promising Young Writers:
My cousin name is Alexandra Spence. She is fat and curvaceous and she behaves like a big sister to me. She is well-mannered because she was brought up well by her mother. She loves to read Romantic books and she loves to write stories about people and she loves acting out drama. She doesn’t like cucumbers, politicians and perverts.
She has a beautiful face. Her eyes are small, she has a wonderful smile that makes me feel happy, and she has really high cheeks bones that cover her eyes when she laughs. She has brown eyes that know when I am lying. The colour of her skin is like gold and her hair is like my black school shoes. I only manage to reach her chest, that’s how tall she is.
My cousin works at an After Class where she helps children to read and help them with other subject like what I do. She loves her job because she loves helping children. She graduated Secondary School with nine (9) CXC subject. She was always on the Honor Roll and Principal List from since she entered 2nd form. She graduated Antigua State Collage with honors and an Associate’s Degree in Humanities. She participates in a lot of things, like volunteering at the Silston library, helping my dance teacher, singing on our church choir and working with the youths. She is studying to become a Journalist but also would like to do Interior Designing. She is always changing how her room and our living room look; I usually help her because she makes it fun. I remember last Christmas, when we were rearranging the living room; we turned up the radio and sang loudly to the music, while I cleaned the windows and she put on the curtains, we even had a little competition to see who would finish their part of the work first. I won, because she had to stop to talk to her boyfriend on the phone.
My cousin imbues me to be as passionate as she is, in everything I do; she helps me with my education and church. She is the best cousin I ever had. I would like to be like her because she has a wonderful personality and I like it.
For earning honourable mention in her age category, Rolanda received:
Gifts contributed by Juneth Webson & Frank B. Armstrong, and a certificate sponsored by the Best of Books.
Thanks to all partners and patrons for making the Wadadli Pen 2016 Challenge possible. Here at Wadadli Pen, we encourage you to support the businesses and individuals who support the arts.
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