The Elements of Creative Writing

It’s not every day you see wordsmiths gathered in a science building. But then, it’s not every day you see chemists relishing the written word, either. The backwards “celebration of words and letters” took place at the Ken Olsen Science Center on Tuesday, October 20, when the national day on writing converged with national chemistry week.

“It’s not too many times we’ve been able to say, ‘hosted by the departments of chemistry and English,’” said Dwight Tshudy, associate professor of chemistry. At “Of Poetry and Periodic Tables,” students and faculty read their original poetry and CoNTeST entries – patchwork stories, poems and proverbs constructed from only the letters found in the periodic table.

From sophomore Ariel Guiguizian’s story about “BAtBOY Y FISH LaDy” to freshman Joshua Meister’s “PErIODIC PUN” on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, CoNTeST entries revealed a wealth of wit on the writers’ parts and even greater wealths of patience.

CoNTeST winner Rachel Otto’s “AlAs, THe CHOICe” was the longest entry. While the rest of us were taking quad finals, Otto (’12) was piecing together a full-page parody of Hamlet’s famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy.

“I actually got the idea one day when I was… debating whether or not to go to chemistry class,” said Otto. Although she almost gave up when she realized the periodic table would not allow her to spell “or,” Otto pressed on, hoping to win first prize: a periodic table blanket.

“I was getting kind of cold at night because I hadn’t brought extra blankets,” she admitted. Ulterior motives aside, Otto said she welcomed the chance to combine creativity with classic literature under the CoNTeST’s constraints.

Irv Levy, professor of chemistry and computer science, agreed with Otto: the blanket is perfect for “protecting yourself from the elements with the elements.” Judges waited until mole day, or 10/23 – thus named because the scientific quantity of a mole is 6.022 times 1023 – to declare Otto the winner.

“I take my hat – no, I take my whole head off to her,” said one judge.

Susanna Sousa’s “TReAsURe MoUNTaIN” took second prize, a 550-piece periodic table jigsaw puzzle. Guiguizian and Meister earned honorable mentions along with junior Elise Nedzweckas and senior Rachel Shirron.