Adie Smith, Belhaven Class of 2011, is a multi-talented graduate who can sculpt, paint, and photograph, and was recently recognized and awarded for her imaginative work in poetry.

Smith, a Belhaven Visual Arts Major with a concentration in Creative Writing, won first place in the 2011 Janet B. McCabe Poetry Contest. The prize was $1,000.00.

Dr. Randall Smith, Director of Creative Writing, said “Adie Smith is one of the best poets I have taught in the past twenty years-it’s no surprise to those familiar with her poetry that she won the McCabe Poetry Prize this year. In fact, according to the editor at Ruminate, all three of Adie’s submissions were selected by the contest judge, Naomi Shihab Nye, as finalists for the prize.”

Her poem, In Bridgewater, my room, was the winning submission that won her first place in the poetry competition. (Thanks to Adie, here is the poem)

In Bridgewater, my room

was set in the front of the house,
overlooking the yard.
The hillside fell gently to the road below
and to the Beaver River that
slipped easily between the hills.
One night my father in a whisper, sang—
swing low, sweet chariot, coming for
to carry me home.

And afterwards, I stood at the window and stared
down the lights casting long glares
into the river. I pushed
the sash up, the night air breathing
on my face, I squinted my eyes.
The beams stretched into stars—
long tails of light cut through the darkness,
joined together, and snaked in the sky.

And I listened for the train,
lumbering down the tracks behind my house,
the whistle first, both deep and shrill,
and then the rattle of metal. I stood,
lingered in its sound. With its passing,
I hummed the last of the song—
a band of angels coming after me,
coming for to carry me home.

The train carried on and crossed the river,
moved off to shake the bones of other homes.
The engine light blazed in the water and the whistle
hung in the air, reached out to the city’s edge
where my mother slept alone—
the hospital floors heavy above her head
and her sleep slow in coming.

This is not the first time Adie Smith has been recognized for her writing skills. She received honorable mention in the 2009 Janet B. McCabe Poetry Contest.

Belhaven University is the only Christian university in the United States offering a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

The creative writing program draws out a student’s artistic expression through writing while helping students develop and form their writing style.

In addition, it also teaches student writers to see the writing life as a high calling and a tool for unraveling the mysteries of creation and the human experience.

Belhaven is also one of 30 institutions in the nation accredited in four primary areas of the arts – visual art, music, theater, and dance. Belhaven competes at the highest level in the arts with some of the top schools in the nation.