How many people when passing a notice on the bulletin board at the local library announcing a poetry contest, actually go home, write a poem, and enter? Well, 10-year-old West Windsor resident Tiffany Rodriguez did just that — and she won!
“I heard about it, wrote a poem, gave it in, and they chose it,” Rodriguez says.
Here’s what she submitted:
When I’m Forty, I Will….
When I’m 40, I’ll be just like my dad, strong, smart, not afraid of anything.
When I’m 40, I’ll be able to change the world. I’ll make sure every girl and boy will be treated equal, no matter the color of their skin.
When I’m 40, I’ll know there will be no injustice and the war in Iraq will be over. Everybody will live in peace and harmony.
When I am 40, the world will change.
Tiffany will read the poem that won the West Windsor-Plainsboro joint library poetry contest on Saturday, June 25, at the West Windsor Arts Council’s fourth annual Summer Solstice Poetry (SSP) event, beginning at 7 p.m. The free event will take place rain or shine, under a tent in the Nassau Park Pavilion Gazebo.
While Rodriguez will only have two minutes to read her poem, she will get to rub shoulders with other more experienced performers.
The event will also feature New Jersey poets Charles Johnson and Catherine (Cat) Doty, reading choice poems from their new books. Johnson’s “Tunnel” was a finalist for the 2004 Paterson Poetry Prize, while Doty’s “Momentum” was featured at the 2004 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival.
Also, the hip-hop poetry group, Mayhem Poets, starring Toney Jackson, Kyle Sutton, and Scott Trazevets, will perform choreographed jazz-like readings. In addition to providing school programs, the Mayhem Poets have worked in conjunction with Arts Power National Touring Theater, and Young Audiences of New Jersey.
Chairing the WWAC poetry reading is West Windsor resident Elizabeth Madden-Zibman, a freelance communications writer, poet, novelist, and writing teacher.
Poet Rodriguez, who is a fourth grade student at Village School, lives with her father, David, and mother, Carmen, in Princeton Junction. She has an older brother, David, 23, and a sister, Katherine, 25. While her favorite subjects are language arts and physical education, her least favorite is math. In her spare time, Rodriguez likes to play outside, hang out with her friends, and participate in Girl Scout Troop 1500. She has also belonged to the writer’s club at Village School, and is just starting competitive swimming.
Rodriguez doesn’t particularly consider herself a poet. “Usually….sometimes,” she says, “But I like fantasy better.” She started writing fantastical stories in the third grade.
Was she surprised at being chosen the winner of the poetry contest? “It was a little surprising. I don’t usually win stuff like that. But it made me proud, because I didn’t think I was going to win. It felt wonderful.”
Rodriguez says that one day, she would like to use her imagination in writing and perhaps be a children’s book author. And yes, she’d enter another contest, maybe a chapter-story contest next time.
Maybe she gets that talent from her father. David Rodriguez spent 20 years in the publishing industry, working in sales for Time Inc. While there, he had exposure to and responsibility for the school-age magazines Scholastic and Weekly Reader. He has since turned his attention to public service and works for New Jersey’s Department of Personnel. He also volunteers for the judiciary, serving on two boards that make recommendations to the Mercer County Superior Court, regarding children who have been removed from their families due to abuse and neglect.
According to her father, Tiffany was born prematurely, and only weighed 2.9 pounds at her birth. “We didn’t know if she’d make it,” says her father. “She was supposed to be born in Princeton hospital, but then she was moved to St. Peter’s neonatal intensive care in New Brunswick. At the same time, her mother remained in Princeton in critical condition.
“It was the most dramatic period of our lives,” says Rodriguez. “She continued to thrive and meet every milestone. But, she’s our miracle baby, and I am very proud of her achievements.”
– Fran Ianacone
Summer Solstice Poetry, West Windsor Arts Council, Nassau Park Pavilion Gazebo, 609-919-1982. Saturday, June 25. 7 p.m.
