2014 Sharon Lustbader Scholar: Elizabeth Lewis

2014 Sharon Lustbader Scholar Elizabeth Lewis
with Mrs. Lustbader

Meet the 2014 winner of the Sharon Lustbader Writing Prize, Elizabeth Lewis! Elizabeth's story, Waiting for Spring, is a thoughtful meditation on the cycle of life and death, aging and expectation. Using spring and a preponderance of crocus flowers as metaphor, Elizabeth's clear, poetic prose sung a wistful and evocative song. Elizabeth will be attending Beloit College for the fall 2014 semester. It will be her first year of college. There she hopes to study Russian history. 

If you had to credit one writer, poet, novel or story as your inspiration, who or what would it be?

I would credit The Witches by Roald Dahl. His name was not the only one on my bookshelf when I was younger, nor were his books the only ones I read. But they are the ones that have stuck with me and made me look back a thousand times just to reread a page, a paragraph, a sentence again.

What advice would you give your future self?

To always travel even if it means not having much! 

Take a peek at the winning story "Waiting for Spring" >> here. 

2012 Sharon Lustbader Scholar: Su Ting Wang

Meet the 2012 Sharon Lustbader Scholar, Su Ting Wang! Her story, Running On and On..., a story of self-realization and learning to love in Brooklyn, was selected for this year's scholarship and publication in TBSR no. 5.

What are your plans for life after High School (Midwood High School)?

I plan to go to Hunter College and major in English. I plan to study abroad at some point in England for their literature. I don't plan to study only English Literature, but literatures and cultures around the world. I plan to become a novelist who writes something more than the crap that young adults read - something more true and fulfilling.  

If you had to credit one writer, poet, novel or story as your inspiration, who or what would it be?

2012 Sharon Lustbader Scholar Su Ting Wang with Mrs. Lustbader

If I had to credit something that has inspired me to write it would have to be A tree grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. I remember how captivating the very first page was to me. It was nostalgic, which appealed to me and made me think of my childhood and the time I stilled live in Brooklyn. Francie Nolan, it occurred to me, was the very definition of being a girl. She also had a strong sense of family. She dreamed like anyone else would. I liked how that could draw the reader into her thoughts. She was an acknowledging child who understood the circumstances of her family and demonstrated her strength. I wished I could somehow be as strong as Francie. Because the novel is based off of Betty Smith's childhood I felt a very personal and immediate connection with her. More than anything I loved her style of writing. I admit that I do not like to read Jane Austen because I can't understand a thing, but Smith's writing was just magically accessible. The text of the novel is not scholarly-level hard, but it's enriched by a profound emotional breadth and subtle wording.

The Sharon Lustbader Scholarship

E X C E L S I O R!

The Broome Street Review, in collaboration with Midwood Public High School at Brooklyn College, is proud to present the Sharon Lustbader Scholarship. 

Let me premier this incredible endeavor by introducing its namesake: Sharon Lustbader is the cornerstone of Midwood High School's young literati. She is, for hundreds and hundreds of students, a foundation of cosmopolitanism--not only intellectually and spiritually, but sartorially. 

No heel is too high, so long as the stay is reliable. 

You may or may not understand this Confucian wisdom--but you must understand that Mrs. Lustbader constancy, intelligence, wit and beauty continues to inspire and cultivate young artists and individuals. As well, it is worth noting, that she has not aged a day past twenty-three. 

H O W    D O S T    T H I S    W O R K ?

Good question! The Sharon Lustbader Scholarship is available to NYC Public High School seniors. Applications are available via the link below. Send one piece of poetry, fiction or creative non-fiction to broomestreetreview@gmail.com with the application or an equivalent cover letter. We will review each of the pieces, select a winner and publish hir work in the upcoming issue of the Broome Street Review. As well, during the Spring Award ceremony, the winner will be presented with the $250 scholarship. It ain't much--but it's somethin'!

W H Y ?

Not since F. D. Roosevelt, the WPA and the Federal Writers's Project has there been such incredible opportunity for writers--Today, with at least 800 accredited creative writing programs, opportunity is available for young and aspiring writers who are serious and disciplined in the craft. The writer's life has been described in many ways, but there is no singular path to being or becoming a writer. This is, perhaps, one of the greatest challenges in a writer's life--this immensity of freedom and becoming. A dedication to the understanding of language opens doors in places we hardly imagine--to communicate, and well, is one of the most useful and enjoyable skills one can develop. It is our hope that this scholarship and publication, in the spirit of Mrs. Lustbader, is a boon for you!

 W H E N ?

Selection for TBSR no. 5 will begin, officially, in January of 2012.

D O W N L O A D    T H E   A P P L I C A T I O N!