INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / JUNE 5, 1990

Event author wins top national
magazine award for poetry

frequent contributor to Douglas College’s
Event magazine has won a gold medal for
poetry in the National Magazine Awards.

Janice Kulyk Keefer scooped up the prestigious
prize for a poem called ‘Fields’, which appears in
Douglas College’s Fall 1989 edition of Event, an inter-
nationally acclaimed literary magazine.

For Keefer, a native of Nova Scotia, the award is a
sign that she accomplished her goal for this particular
poem and as a writer in general.

“It says a lot about the power of that particular
piece of work. It’s nice to see that it speaks to other
people,” says Keefer. “It restores one’s faith in what
one is doing.”

The poem touches a national nerve in a country
once dominated by immigrants, Keefer adds. “This
seems to be something that knocks people out. People
seem to be able to relate to it as an experience that is

to the National Magazine Awards is difficult, says
editor and Douglas College creative writing instruc-
tor Dale Zieroth.

“Tevery year we send in entries,” says Zieroth.
“We have to make a choice, to decide what is the best
material we have.”

Zieroth says that the most important aspect of the
award is the recognition that goes to the author.

“It's wonderful to win because it draws attention
to the author. It means that the poem was the best
poem in a literary magazine in Canada for that par-
ticular year.”

A National Magazine Award gold medal is also a
tribute to the quality of Event magazine, says Zieroth.
“If you consistently publish good work, you get
nominated,” says Zieroth. “You're choosing work
that is considered worthwhile by your peers. It con-
firms that we’re publishing good work.

 

very Canadian.”

‘Fields’ is more than a series of stories. It attempts

to preserve the experiences of
Keefer’s family. “For this par-
ticular poem, the sequence of
people is important in the life of
my family. It’s very much a tribute
to my grand-mother, who passed
away about ten years ago. She was
someone whose experiences |
wanted to deal with, and to
record. It helped me visualize and
understand migration, exile. For
that kind of experience, one needs
strength, to achieve a mastery of
faith,” says Keefer.

Keefer has just finished a stint
as writer-in-residence at the
University of Prince Edward Is-
land, and will take up a teaching
post in the English Department at
the University of Guelph. ‘Fields’
is part of anew manuscript of her
poems and a prize winner in last
year’s CBC Literary Contest.

Her ties with Douglas College
go back several years. She spent a
week at the College as writer-in-
residence in 1987. A number of her
works have appeared in Event
magazine.

Deciding which of the many
good works from Event to submit

"But to win is wonderful. It goes beyond confir-
mation of excellence. It means we’re the best.” @

 

 

Co-operative Education
Students Aiming High

Douglas College students are making their presence known in the
community.

Twenty-five students in the Commerce and Business Administra-
tion Diploma programs have been placed for a four-month work term
from May 7 through August 24 through the Co-operative Education
arm of the Department. According to Marian Hill, Co-op Coordinator
for the Business programs, there was a very high demand for students
in Computer Information Systems, where half the placements were
made, followed by Marketing, Accounting, Administrative Manage-
ment, University Transfer (Commerce) and Construction Management
consecutively.

While major corporations and the federal and provincial govern-
ments have a strong demand for Co-op students, a number of new
employers were enlisted this semester who represent smaller, local
businesses which view Co-op as a way of filling temporary vacancies
or meeting special project needs.

"The students gain excellent experience in industry in their field of
specialization," says Hill, "and make valuable contacts for future career
opportunities."

In the CIS area, students can obtain work experience in both a
mainframe and micro environment by requesting a different worksite
for each placement term. One CIS Co-op graduate who did just that had
three lucrative job offers when she graduated this Spring.

continued on page 12

 

 

 

 

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