Students marched into RML 525 on Thursday, April 18, for the Creative Writing Awards. Professors from the English department arrived to the classroom with eight medium pizzas, cans upon cans of La Croix and cups and plates for all. Once everyone was settled with La Croix and pizza, Professor Sequoia Nagamatsu walked to the podium in the front of the classroom with a handful of envelopes.
Up to three finalists were listed for each award, and the whole classroom beat their desks for a drumroll as the winning envelope was ripped open and the winner announced. The categories included areas from Best Fiction Piece to Best Sentence, with each winner allowed to read excerpts from their writing.
The writing ranged from funny and light to heartfelt and poignant, but each piece had a level of emotional depth and complexity that impressed those in attendance.
For example, when the first winner was announced, sophomore Melie Ekunno ’21 read out a snippet from her fiction piece that combined motherhood with interesting historical context in her short story titled “Table for Two.”
Students participating weren’t necessarily all English majors, and the diversity of the students nominated was clear. Everyone in the room shared a passion for storytelling that gave way to a fruitful and engaging experience.
