AUS student wins a poetry award

American University of Sharjah (AUS) student Farah Nada received a Taaleem Poetry Award on March 10 during the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai.

Nada, a junior student with a double major in journalism and English literature, submitted her poem "A Short Story," which won second place in the ages 18 and above English poems category.

"I am very proud of myself, and I am very happy to be recognized the first time I entered into any competition," said Nada. "This has motivated me and from now on I will try to do more. I will take creative writing classes and participate more in writing both short stories and poems."

Twenty-nine students received Taaleem Poetry Awards in this year's competition, which was based on the theme "Identity." The competition was divided into four categories: under age 11, ages 12-14, ages 15-17 and ages 18 and above in both English and Arabic. The awards were handed to the winners by distinguished writers and poets, namely John O'Sullivan, Maytha Al Khayyat, Imtiaz Dharker, and Taaleem's CEO Ziad Azzam.

The Taaleem Poetry Award was a new addition to the Literature Festival. Taaleem is a Dubai-based educational organization committed to inspiring students and helping them to identify and develop their passions and talents.

"Farah Nada is an accomplished student who is a gifted writer.  Her poem, 'A Short Story,' is another achievement for this English and mass communications major," said Dr. John Battenburg, Professor and Head of the AUS Department English.

A Short Story
By Farah Nada

Let me tell you my story,
Let me speak to you of who I am:
I am the miniature letters that rest on the page,
Framing themselves into eloquent words,
Flowing in a flawless excellence;
I am the lines that lie in parallel accord,
Harmonious like the notes of an orchestra,
Played on keys, strings and wind,
With the splendor swelling in the finale,
The triumphant culmination of beauty,
When a note is held for just a moment longer,
When the story is coming to an end;
I am the continuous phrase
That pours from the dry pages
And spills upon the palms of your hand;
I am the pages that turn
With the billowing of a whispering wind,
Murmuring my lyrical lines
As my quiet voice calls to you;
I am bound in pages of wisdom,
Between the skins of a great story;
I lie sheltered within its covers,
My words are my sole protection,
And I seek shelter in their midst;
I lie dormant,
Waiting to come alive,
For I exists only within the heart,
I exist only within the mind.