MOUNT Carmel School junior Jill Anne Mallari and Francisco M. Sablan Middle School eighth grader Aubrey Tabenas topped the senior and junior divisions of the 17th Annual Valentine Namio Sengebau Poetry Competition at Marianas High School on Monday.
The top three winners received these cash prizes: $250 for first place; $150, second place; and $100, third place. In addition, the first placers were awarded perpetual trophies.
The annual competition was established by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council in 2004 to help strengthen the literary capabilities of young writers in the CNMI while highlighting topics about culture, identity, and change.
The competition honors the life of Valentine N. Sengebau (1941-2000), Micronesia’s foremost poet. He was a Palauan who made the NMI his adopted home.
The annual competition has two divisions: one for seventh and eighth graders and another for high school students.
The junior division competitors select and recite an original poem by Sengebau, while senior division competitors compose and recite their original poems.
Tabenas chose to recite “The Task,” which she said is a poem about upholding culture, sharing warmth and love, having pride in one’s cultural heritage, practicing one’s culture and tradition, and being free.
“The reason why I chose this poem is that it speaks about pride and the continuance of traditional culture, which I value. I can relate to this poem because we need to uphold our culture now more than ever,” she said.
Joining Tabenas in the junior division this year were Hopwood Middle School eight grader Hayden Igisomar, FMS seventh grader Jilliene Crisostomo, Dandan Middle School eighth graders Daniel Dela Cruz and Katrina Wu, Dr. Rita H. Inos Jr. High School eighth graders Carlos Calvo and Rianna Barcinas, MCS seventh graders Justin Mallari and Taher Shakir, and Northern Marianas International School seventh grader Eamon Tang and eighth grader Gabriel Narciso.
Dela Cruz placed second while Igisomar came in third place.
Dela Cruz and Igisomar, along with Tang, chose to recite Sengebau’s “Mirage,” while Crisostomo recited “The Watcher.”
Wu recited “Searching”; Calvo and Barcinas, “Man and Life”; Mallari, “Time of Consciousness”; Shakir, “Searching”; and Narciso, “Torn Sail.”
Senior division winner Mallari got the judges’ nod for her original poetry titled, “Homebound,” which reflects upon her life so far, as she approaches young adulthood.
“I have an estimated amount of two years left on island [before I go to college], and with that thought in mind, I just can’t help but think about the life [I’ve] lived,” she said.
In her poem, Mallari ponders life on-island and living abroad while highlighting the beauty, simplicity, and resiliency of the CNMI.
“Competing is a part of me now,” she said. “Last year, when Covid hit, I honestly missed the rush of performing…. This is my first time competing at the high school level, so making my own poem and all of that, I was really…self-conscious about how I would be like compared to everyone else, but I’m so grateful for this experience. Hopefully more people join next time,” Mallari said.
“I have been performing since I was a kid, joining…competitions like speech and debate, so this is like another area of that that I just love to do for fun.”
Mallari encourages other students who are interested in competing to “just do it.” “You’ll win some, you’ll lose some, and that’s okay. That’s all part of the process,” she added.
The other competitors in the senior division were DRHI Sr. High School junior Jermaine Yalung and senior Kaitlyn Balgoa, Tinian High School juniors Ismail Hossain and Elaiza Songco, and MHS sophomore Sara Keaton and senior Erika Pascual.
Duo group Yalung and Balgoa placed second with their poem titled, “We Belong.” The piece delves into the struggles of immigrants in the cultural melting pot of the CNMI.
Pascual came in third place with her poem titled, “Monachapsis,” which is defined as the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.”
Her poem asks, “Do you know how much you are loved beyond words that you suddenly become a/ threat the moment/ they discover how much of a treasure you are?”
Humanities Council executive director Leo Pangelinan commended all the competitors.
“It was inspiring to see so many students decide to come out and do this this year…. I don’t think we gave them a lot of time to write original compositions or even try to memorize and really feel Sengebau’s poems, but they did a spectacular job,” he said.
“I’m particularly proud of the students who may not have recited it in the way that they wanted to, but they kept their poise, they stayed up there, and they saw it through. No one gave up, which is awesome. I always hope for something like that at these events. We just…let them figure it out, and I think that’s an important life lesson…we bring to students. This opportunity teaches them to persevere and know how to deal with those public speaking faux pas… and to trust in themselves that it will come back to them, [that] they have done it before and they will do it again. That’s always good to see.”
Pangelinan also commended the school administrators, teachers, and coaches who aided the students in preparing for this year’s competition.
He said he was especially grateful to see students from Tinian and Rota also take part in the competition, as well as students from NMIS who are new and just might be the underdogs of this year’s competition.
“It’s really important for us that they’re included in this program,” said Pangelinan.
He added that this year’s competition saw more of a balance between public and private school entries, noting that in the past, there were usually more public school competitors than private.
As the competition nears its 20th anniversary, the Humanities Council has compiled the winning poems in a book titled, “Microchildren,” a spin on a collection of Sengebau’s poems published by the council titled, “Microchild.”
Limited copies of “Microchildren” are being sold by the council for $10 a book.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was postponed last year.
The council hopes to have this year’s winners recite their poetry in front of a camera, and to use that medium to share their poetry with the community.
To future competitors, Pangelinan said Sengebau’s poetry is a great way for students to connect with poetry from the perspective of an islander who has lived not just in the NMI, but in Palau and even in the U.S.
“I think that a lot of what he writes will resonate with the youth of today and the generations to come, the youth of tomorrow,” he said.
“Microchild” is available in every school library as well as the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, Pangelinan noted.
“I encourage them to look for that book, open it up, read a poem or two, and think about writing poems that relate more to your personal circumstances and help you to reach down deep into those emotions that help you feel alive and make sense of what’s going on in your life,” he said.
Pangelinan thanked all of the competitors, school administrators, teachers, coaches, parents, judges, event attendees and supporters for making this year’s competition successful, as well as MHS for hosting the event this year.
This year’s poetry content judges were Catherine Perry, April Repeki, Zaldy Dandan and Sengebau’s nieces, Shannon and Siobhon MacMannus.
Adam Walsh and Rep. Leila Staffler were the recital judges.
Senior division first place winner Jill Anne Mallari and junior division first place winner Aubrey Tabenas pose for a photo with Humanities Council executive director Leo Pangelinan and program coordinator and this year’s master of ceremonies Andrew Roberto.
Competitors, judges, and the master of ceremonies in this year’s poetry competition pose for a group photo.
Recital judges Adam Walsh and Rep. Leila Staffer pose for a photo with Humanities Council executive director Leo Pangelinan.
Second place winners Jermaine Yaling and Kaitlyn Balgoa from the senior division and Daniel Dela Cruz from the junior division
Third place winners Erika Pascual from the senior division and Hayden Igisomar from the junior division
Senior division winner Jill Anne Mallari recites her original poem, “Homebound.”
Junior division first place winner Aubrey Tabenas recites “The task.”
