{"id":43804,"date":"2022-11-17T15:22:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=43804"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:30:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:30:16","slug":"the-2021-carleton-university-student-songwriting-and-poetry-competition","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/the-2021-carleton-university-student-songwriting-and-poetry-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Reflections of the Student Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Creative Reflections of the Student Experience\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Looking back on the inaugural Carleton University Student Songwriting and Poetry Competition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2021,\u201d writes Music Professor James McGowan<\/a> in the foreword to Creative Reflections of the Student Experience<\/a><\/em>, \u201cwe were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cSo many of our lives were affected, including students attending Carleton University. Classes were mostly online, social distancing was required, and the student experience changed dramatically. At that time, I had recently been appointed Chair in Teaching Innovation with a mandate to promote the arts on campus to empower communities and inspire student engagement. With limited options to gather in person, we created an opportunity for students to engage in the Carleton community by expressing themselves through their art.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That opportunity took the form of the first-ever Carleton University Student Songwriting and Poetry Competition\u2014which saw over a hundred students from departments across Carleton\u2019s five faculties signing up to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. James McGowan, Associate Professor of Music <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Their artistic submissions were then assessed by a team of professional judges, including Carleton faculty, instructors and alumni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prizes included cash awards for submissions deemed best in four categories (poems, lyrics, songs, and compositions), free professional recordings for the winning songs and compositions, and the publication of an anthology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n


The anthology features a sample of the poems and song lyrics written by Carleton students, drawing on the power of creative expression<\/a> to explore the challenges and emotions they experienced throughout this particular point in the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While his academic work is largely focused within the School for Studies in Art and Culture<\/a> where he works as an Associate Professor of Music and Supervisor of Performance Studies, McGowan\u2019s decision to open up the competition to students in all faculties was motivated by his firm belief that participation in the arts is beneficial to the health of all communities and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI wanted to ensure that every student was given the opportunity to express themselves artistically, especially during the last few years in which so many students felt isolated.\u201d<\/p>Dr. James McGowan, Associate Professor of Music<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That same belief is why he established the PLACE program<\/a> (PLACE stands for \u201cPerformative Learning and Artistic Communities of Engagement\u201d) as part of his mandate as the 2020 University Chair in Teaching Innovation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGowan also feels that opening the competition to students from all faculties highlighted the important role that the arts\u2014specifically music and creative writing\u2014play across campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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