This Valentine’s Day, Inscape Journal celebrated with odes about their favorite things from SpaghettiOs to lotion.
As soon as February hits, Valentine’s Day gifts and candy fill the shelves of most stores across the country. However, instead of buying roses or chocolate to celebrate the season, the English Department’s literary journal Inscape held a poetry competition that challenged participants to write an “ode to anything but a person.” On February 19, 2025, the competition concluded with ode readings by the top 15 finalists and the first and second place winners. These odes showed just how important it can be to acknowledge not just the people you love, but the things you love too.
The top 15 finalists wrote odes expressing their love for weeks-old oranges, the functionality of elbows, Google Calendar, and even a peaceful stretch of Kentucky bluegrass, to name a few. After readings by the finalists, the first and second place winners of the competition shared their odes. “Ode to an Electric Guitar,” by Neah DePoe (English ’27), took second place and compared the power and thrill of playing an electric guitar to a battle—one that the guitarist always wins. First place went to Karen George for her piece titled “Ode to Edges,” which celebrated a variety of edges, from the sides of celery stalks and the curves of the moon to the sharp edge of paper.
The competition’s theme allowed everyone to take part in the holiday regardless of their relationship status. As contestants shared their favorite things, Valentine’s Day became a day to celebrate the little things in life, even something as seemingly inconsequential as an orange.
Read the winning poems and some honorable mentions here.
The Inscape Journal was founded in 1982 and, since then, has published a variety of fiction, non-fiction, art, and poetry from artists around the world. Last year alone, they received submissions from 32 different countries and all 50 states. Visit their website to submit one of your pieces today.