The poignancy of love and self-sacrifice amid the detritus of a foreclosed trailer undergoing demolition. The split-second, life-altering effects of an unpredictable snowboarding accident. The simplicity of keen observation along a rural roadside.
These are some of the subjects explored by winning authors in this year’s Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest reading, a free event taking place Thursday, May 29, at Gerlinger Alumni Lounge. Following a 5:30 p.m. reception for the authors and 2014 contest judge, novelist Jonathan Evison, the top three winners in both the student and open categories will read their short essays beginning at 6 p.m.
Now in its 15th year, the contest is presented annually by Oregon Quarterly, the University of Oregon’s flagship magazine, and The Duck Store. Winning writers receive cash prizes, and the winning essay is published in the summer issue of Oregon Quarterly. This year’s top essay is “A Demolition” by Peter Korchnak of Cazadero, California.
Evison, a novelist and recipient of a 2009 Christopher Isherwood Fellowship, will host the event and introduce the readers. Evison will read from his own work in an event Wednesday, May 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.at The Duck Store.
Evison was the founding member and frontman of the Seattle punk band March of Crimes, which included future members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. He lives on Bainbridge Island, Wash.
This year’s winning essays are:
OPEN CATEGORY
- First Place: "A Demolition" by Peter Korchnak
- Second Place: "Road Apples" by Lynn Larssen
- Third Place: "Day One" by Gabriel Karapondo
STUDENT CATEGORY
- First Place: "South-West" by Scott Latta
- Second Place: "Know Home" by Heather Durham
- Third Place: "An Improbable Aspiration" by Missy Anne Peterson
―By Ann Wiens, UO Strategic Communications