Joanne Kim - nationally published author!

Our huge congratulations to Joanne Kim on being selected for publication in the 2024 student writing anthology Re-draft 24 – We Scream In Static.  The judges said of Joanne's piece – The Winged Victory of X –  that it was ‘Wild! All over the imagination place!’

Joanne’s work was selected from a staggering 631 entries received from around Aotearoa New Zealand – and we are very proud of her success.

We asked Joanne what inspired her amazing piece.

‘I wrote this piece to explore the contempt we humans feel towards the pain and annihilation of those we dehumanise and/or despise,’ she says. ‘The mere existence of the dehumanised “warrants” aggression and abuse from the cruellest of us, and the sight of their damage as a result, serves as evidence for why they must be further detested, and destroyed, rather than pitied. As a result, the dehumanised, though simply in hardship and/or are victims of abuse, loathe themselves, and think that they, deserved such treatment and live in shame. However, the truth is, the adversities which people experience in their lives are not indicative of how reprehensible or flawed they are as a human being, but rather, their strength and beauty. Still standing, despite it all. Therefore, the title is based on the Winged Victory of Samothrace, a Hellenistic sculpture, where the “incompleteness” of it, which could be seen as irrevocable damage, makes it all the more inspiring, and loved by many across time. Because, it is not in spite, but because, of the damaged aspects of us, that we blossom into incredible human beings.”

The actual structure of Joanne’s work adds even more layers to Joanne's already-impressive work.

She says: ‘By reading the lines in the ‘correct’ descending order, left to right and so forth, you can grasp the idea of the piece to an extent. By reading down the left, you are able to experience and acknowledge the feeling of inferiority one may feel when subjected to such contempt. By reading down the right however, I hoped to provide some sort of comfort; praising their strength, expressing that they deserve to be, and are, loved deeply.’ 

If you’re keen to read Joanne’s piece and works from other students around New Zealand, you can order a copy online at: 

https://clerestorypress.co.nz/the-re-draft-series

Book price is $38 + $7 P&P (free postage on orders of 2 or more copies)