2009 UM-D Writing Awards

On Wednesday, September 30th, the University of Michigan-Dearborn held its 2009 Writing Awards. The ceremony began at 5 pm in room 1030 of the CASL building. There was a small reception where food such as cheese and cider was provided. Not being very hungry, I ate only a small, chocolate mint. The auditorium seemed to be an appropriate size for a writing awards ceremony where honored pieces were to be read. The main seating section was located in the middle of the auditorium with 2 smaller sections on each side separated by 2 aisles. The setting was intimate with each seating section having 7 or 8 rows containing distinctive, blue chairs. The ceremony was attended by the award winners, their family and friends, and my COMP 227 class among others. The award winners were nicely dressed, no doubt a very proud moment for each of them.
Starting a few minutes late, a brief introduction was given by the Chair of the Writing Awards, PF Potvin. Awards were given for each of the following writing categories: Fiction, Poetry, Research Writing, Creative Non-Fiction, Honors Writing, and First-Year Writing. Something I found interesting was that most of the winners were female. I wonder if this trend was reflected in the submissions received or if it was just a coincidence. Unfortunately, it seemed like a considerable amount of the winners were unable to attend. Of those in attendance, most of the winners read excerpts from their pieces. The readings were enjoyable, although I was puzzled by the winning selection of the Poetry category. The ceremony proceeded along at a brisk pace, clocking in at 30 minutes which was much appreciated by this observer.