HIDDEN SUGAR

Grand-prize winner of the 94th Annual WD Writing Competition Alison Luterman shares the inspiration behind her winning poem and the power of being a poet.

- BY AMY JONES

When the editors of WD read Alison Luterman's poem, “Charring Lemons,” as part of the final round of judging for the 94th Annual Writing Competition, it resonated with all of us for different reasons.

And that's part of the beauty of a well-crafted poem: thoughtful language speaking a timeless truth.

Luterman has two pieces of advice for other poets reading this article, yet what she said will resonate with writers of all types and is advice given by many writers featured in this magazine that's well worth repeating. First, she says, “We're all part of this giant conversation together, [so] speak back to the poetry that you love or that touches you. Write a poem in response to it as being part of the conversation ...” As for career advice for writers, “I would say persist. I’ve persisted because I have entered this contest for years. ... [Laughs] But, it took until now to get it, and I’m glad I persisted.”

Luterman's determination garnered her the $5,000 grand prize, a trip to the WD Annual Conference, and more. Here is a quick Q&A with Alison Luterman followed by the winning poem in its entirety.

On the inspiration for her winning poem, “Charring Lemons”:

We did get this bumper crop of lemons. There was a lot of rain last winter in my area, and there were just tons of lemons. Where I live in Oakland, everybody has a lemon tree. I'm in the inner city, but people have lemon trees; we have a lemon tree. The Meyers are the really valuable ones. Those are the ones everybody wants and so, as I wrote in the poem, there was this glut of lemons, and people were leaving them in boxes on the sidewalk for people to take. There's this incredible generosity. ...