Sophie Macdonald wins Roald Dahl contest

SFU English congratulates Sophie Macdonald who won the department's undergraduate Roald Dahl contest. In the photo above, Macdonald is pictured with her prize of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  wooden-mounted poster. She also received an SFU English swag bag.

Macdonald won the contest by writing a poem, "Why Does Beauty Sleep?" in the style of Dahl's Revolting Rhymes. Her poem impressed both judges of the contest, Dr. Nicky Didicher and Rebecca Saloustros. We present her poem to you here:

Why Does Beauty Sleep?

In a little kingdom, a king and queen

threw a banquet, but being mean

They excluded one Wise Woman.

The thirteenth wise woman plotted something forbidden –

A crafty spell for Briar Rose, to kindle

 It, just a little prick of a finger on a spindle,

And cursed, the princess would sleep for a century.

Briar Rose felt like she lived in a penitentiary –

Always monitored in her cell with a guard,

Being a cursed princess was hard.

Worst of all, a betrothal to a prince,

His manners were bad, his jokes made her cringe.

She could not marry this toad of a man,

So she crafted a plan…

Finding a spindle was no easy task,

She persisted, wisely she preferred to bask

In dream-filled slumber than to have no freedom.