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Times 'loves' student essay

By Claire Carlson '12
May 13, 2011

When the New York Times announced a call for essays on the topic "Modern Love," more than 1,400 students from 370 colleges across the country sent in submissions. St. Olaf senior Anna Klenke was among them — and her piece was selected as one of four runners-up that the paper will publish.

Although Klenke kept the honor a secret for nearly three weeks, her essay — titled "A Love for the Ages, but Which One?" — is now online and will be published in the Sunday paper. She says she learned of this year's contest through an email from the St. Olaf English Department. Having read and enjoyed previous submissions to the contest, she decided to write her own. "All of the essays from the previous contest were about relationships," she says. "Since I'm in a relationship, I decided that I would try to step back a little bit and look at it with a more objective point of view."

An English and Norwegian major, Klenke has taken two fiction writing classes at St. Olaf and a class in creative non-fiction. "I think that class helped me a lot when I was writing this essay," she says. After she graduates this spring, Klenke will take classes at the Denver Publishing Institute. She hopes to work for a publishing house in the future and eventually build a freelance writing career.

The Times committee that chose the winning essays described their selections as "elegant, wise, funny, and big-hearted." Just as importantly, Klenke says that her boyfriend — the subject of the piece — also enjoyed her work.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.