Carnegie Mellon University
January 14, 2015

MLK Jr. Writing Awards Honor Young Pittsburgh Writers

The MLK Jr. Writing AwardsThe MLK Jr. Writing Awards

On Monday, January 19, 14 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and local high school students will read personal narratives dealing with individual experiences with racial or cultural difference and discrimination at the 2015 Carnegie Mellon University Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing Awards.

Jim Daniels, Thomas Stockham Baker University Professor of English, founded the Writing Awards program in 1999 building on his commitment to writing about race. Daniels edited the work, “Letters to America: Contemporary American Poetry on Race.”

“I believe that we learn about each other through telling each other our stories,” said Daniels. “The details, the images, and dialogue help us imagine how other people see and experience the world. It is too easy to resort to broad generalizations and easy pieties when the real issues deserve much more careful, nuanced attention.”

Each reader is a recipient of writing awards sponsored by the Carnegie Mellon Creative Writing Program, Student Affairs and Office of the President. CMU student winners include Michael Mingo, Siriana Abboud, Joshua Brown, Sophie Rose Zucker, "Ellie L."/G.Liu, and Michelle Mathew.

The ceremony will feature musical performances by the School of Drama and various multicultural student performance groups, a light dinner and a complementary booklet of the winner’s published work.

The MLK Jr. Writing Awards coincide with the University’s MLK Day celebration of events, which include panel discussions and performing arts presentations with over 200 in attendance expected.

The ceremony takes place on Monday, January 19 from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the Cohon University Center, Rangos Ballroom 1-3 of Carnegie Mellon University (map). The event is free and open to the public. RSVP to attend.

Read the full press release here.