Vincent van Gogh is a legend whose legacy serves as an inspiration to many artists around the world. This is also true for Delta College student and award-winning poet, Christiana Haight.

Christiana has been fascinated by Van Gogh since she was a child. Her poems now parallel Van Gogh’s art which was known to be “deeply personal and emotional.” He painted scenes reflective of his emotions and struggles with mental health. The vulnerability he shared with the world made his work exceedingly relatable and impactful—much like Christiana’s poetry. “In her poems, she takes on powerful, personal experiences, but in her way also makes them universal,” shared Jeffery Vande Zande, Delta College English professor.

“I’ve never been super confident in my writing,” said Christiana. “I hesitated to enter [the competitions], but Professor Vande Zande encouraged me to put myself out there and apply.” 

Christiana took a leap of faith entering her poetry for the first time into two competitions — the Delta College Skip Renker Creative Writing Contest and the League for Innovation International Student Literary Contest. To her surprise, she took first place for both!

“Christiana Haight's poetry allows the audience to enter a world of vulnerability, carefully illustrated in swaths of sensory detail color… Without fail, Haight's work showcases that poetry can be a conduit for healing — which makes this work all the more enduring for the audience,” wrote Luther Hughes, League for Innovation Student Literary Competition regional judge.

Christiana’s featured poem in the international competition was titled, “Your Yellow Paint”. While writing this poem, she drew inspiration from the life and works of Vincent van Gogh and his ability to capture beauty through pain. “I’ve always loved his work,” shared Christiana. “I have always resonated with how he found beauty in things, even though he struggled with so much darkness.”

When Christiana returned to school last year, it was initially an investment to advance her administrative career. But after her first English class, she remembered how much she loved to write. Now with several writing courses and a few awards under her belt, she’s empowered to continue sharing her captivating poetry with the world. Her award-winning work will be published in the League for Innovation’s annual literary anthology this fall. She also plans to publish her own book of poetry in the future.

“To anyone that may be hesitating to share their work like I did, I would say to ignore that voice in your head and go for it,” says Christiana.