Congratulations to the winners of our Creative Writing on Justice Competition, selected by Guest Judge Gerard Hogan! The judge, who serves as a judge on the Irish Supreme Court, was deeply impressed by these imaginative and moving pieces that explored how justice and law can be reframed through storytelling.
Read on to check out his glowing commentary on the winning works by teenage writers!
Winner:
“The flow of justice,” by Nathan999 (Ethiopia)
This is an elegant and highly imaginative story about Nate who, demanding justice for his people, goes to war and finds himself brutalised by it. He wonders whether his hunger for justice has given birth to a monster that found justice in another person’s suffering. I found this a sobering and very moving story given that so many of today’s wars and conflicts are driven by a sense of historical grievance and a desire for revenge. The story contains a deep philosophical insight: it queries whether the pursuit of justice is really just a form of revenge.
Runner-Up:
“To be just or not to be , that is morality.” by Rebecca-9 (United Kingdom)
This is a highly imaginative short story in which a legal professional makes small talk with a client on the steps of the courtroom after she has secured a not guilty verdict for her client. We are not told precisely what charge the client had faced, but it seems to have been a serious one with “gruesome details.” The legal professional seems repulsed by the airy vacuousness of the client who, it is hinted, may actually have been guilty in fact of the crime. She confronts the age-old dilemma of the legal professional who strives their best for an accused in whose story she does not quite believe. One is left with the uneasy feeling that the lawyer may have somehow engaged in unethical behavior in order to secure this verdict.
Best Peer Review:
Review of “58 Steps To Reach Baby” by Unravelable (United States)
This was a concise and penetrating review which is sure to assist the author of the main piece.
Piece Finalists:
“Gardening,” by eden_way (Mexico)
This is a charming allegorical story about a young girl whose childhood is destroyed by being obliged to carry an unwanted pregnancy. Despite – or perhaps because of – the allegory it powerfully depicts the pain of the young girl and the arbitrariness of some of the legal restrictions on abortion. The author writes beautifully and the story is highly creative and imaginative. It brings home in a mature style the tragedy of unwanted pregnancy and it describes through this allegory the desperate choices to which young girls are sometimes subject.
“Grabbing the Zhou; Grabbing my Fate,” by Summer Lynn Marin (United States)
This is an account of how the narrator, a Chinese immigrant to the US, is affected by the fact that her family has held on to traditional values. Her parents believe that she is destined for a low-salary job until marriage. She contrasts her fate with that of Bowen, her younger cousin who is doted on by his family. Bowen gets all the advantages in life, and the narrator bears her misfortunes with commendable equanimity. It is a brilliant and powerfully written narrative which exposes the deeply felt personal injustice of gender inequality in a family in the apparently mundane.
“Her Freedom,” by AiraElf (United Kingdom)
This is a moving and highly imaginative story with its background in the Amritsar massacre in April 1919. It leads to a political and nationalist awakening of the author’s wife, Vidya. She passes messages to other women in the neighbourhood and so in July 1920 women join the protests against colonial rule, perhaps for the first time. The story ends with the couple embracing and hoping that in their yearning justice and freedom will be delivered to India. It is a moving, sensitive story which couples themes of love and a coming together to confront injustice.
“IMAG0 DEI,” by equanimity (United Kingdom)
This is a wonderful story about a computer acting as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in which the computer is asked via artificial intelligence why must suffering and strife exist if there is an omni-benevolent God. The computer finally answers that God allows evil to fester in order to teach humans the virtues of humility and humanity. The computer finally tells us that the greatest blessing is that it will never be like us. This was a highly imaginative account of a critique of justice and humanity by a seemingly sentient AI machine. It has a resonance for the future while telling a moving and very human story.
“Is it 'Honor' or Her life?” by wania:) (Pakistan)
This is an elegant and powerfully written account of a so-called honor killing in Pakistan. Bakhtawar is not yet 15 and she wants to complete her education in order to become a leading cardiologist in Quetta. Her father, however, has other plans but as she tries to escape on the night of her wedding, she is confronted by him and he kills her. This was brilliant writing and the author writes in a crisp, powerful prose style, with elegant use of language (e.g., “only a dark, heavy stain of russet mud remained”).
“The stray Kat,” by Y. Pres (Philippines)
This was a wonderful short story written through the eyes of a stray cat who despairs at the injustice of humans in our treatment of gentle creatures who do not have the ability to stand up for themselves. She then finds a home and affection from Jelly. Jelly in turn is abused by her landlord. This is a brilliantly original story with its meditation on the limitations of communication between humans and animals. It avoids sentimentality, yet the story touches us because it confronts vulnerability, the limits of communication and the powerlessness of both humans and animals.
“The Unfiltered Truth in Dirt: Somebody Has to,” by pWarriorKid (India)
This is the story of a Dalit, Appa, reduced to manual scavenging and who is killed when cleaning a blocked sewer. The author, however, learns about the Indian Constitution at school and its guarantee of dignity. When the father of a friend is badly injured in a sewer, the author helps her to secure a commitment from the employer that he will after all pay her father’s wages until he is fit to return to work. This is an inspiring story involving the use of constitutional law in a constructive fashion. The author quotes Dr B.R. Ambedkar, one of the great political architects of the Indian Constitution and one of the great campaigners for social justice. He would be very proud of this highly imaginative story which integrates constitutional ideas into a compelling narrative.
Peer Review Finalists:
Review of “Justice for the Blacks” by builtDifferent (United Kingdom)
Congratulations to our winners! Didn't win this time, or wondering how to enter? Check out our monthly writing competitions for teens for the next opportunity to share your work:
