43rd Annual IIT Writing Contest - Spring 2008
By Susan Mallgrave
The annual Lewis Department of Humanities Writing Contest has, for the 43rd year, brought out a wide-ranging display of talent from across all disciplines within IIT. Each spring, the contest offers three top prizes in each of four separate categories: Freshman Essay Prize, Edwin H. Lewis Prizes for Non-Fiction and Fiction, and the Mollie Cohen Poetry Prize. This year the nine winners' pieces were chosen from more than seventy entries.
Writing Contest Winners left to right: Greg Pulliam (emcee), Sarah Crites, Urba Mandrekar, Anam Moin Khan, Bethany Zanke, Julia Rybakova, Jeffrey Yang, Christian Osswald, Dave Curtain, Doug Geiger (presenter), and Heather Selby (not pictured).
In the Freshman Essay category, Julia Rybakova (BA/AS) won first prize for the essay "Amidst Darkness and Light: Crane's Henry and Cimino's Michael," Anam Moin Khan (CE) placed second for the essay "As You Deem Right," and Urba Mandrekar (PYSCH) took third prize for the essay "The Value of Life."
In the Edwin H. Lewis Non-Fiction division, Heather Selby (BME/HUM) claimed first place for her non-fiction piece entitled "Women As Body", Sarah Crites (EE), took second place for a documentary piece she called "The Forgotten Women of the Depression," and Dave Curtin (CHEM) won third prize for his factual piece called "Changing Lives in Laguna."
In the Edwin H. Lewis Fiction category, the first prize winner was Sarah Crites, who submitted a modern tale entitled "Her Mother's Daughter," the second prize winner was Heather Selby, for a creative piece she named "Longed for Him. Got Him. Sh*t," and the third prize winner in fiction was Julia Rybakova, for a short story called "Fluke."
In the Mollie Cohen Poetry section of the contest, Bethany Zanke (CHEM) took first place for her collection of poems called "Untitled," Jeffrey Yang (BIOCHEM) won second place for his poem called "My Hat is on My Shelf," and Christian Osswald (BME) claimed third prize for a group of poems called "Tears, Ten-Minute Short, Stars."
I asked the first prize winners some questions about what the process of writing meant for them, and received varying answers. For some of them writing is "a great way to relax," and most mentioned writing being an emotional, therapeutic outlet, an escape from stress. One of the winners has a folder of intriguing passages she has copied at various times, so that she can read excerpts as a warm-up to her own writing. All have been writing for a large part of their lives, and one of them mentioned an affinity for plays on words. I also heard regrets about not having enough time to write for pleasure; most of the entries had been done for classes.
All of the writers who entered the contest were honored on April 22 with a luncheon reception in the MTCC Welcome Center, hosted by the Humanities Department. The winning writers were greeted and announced by Humanities Department Chair Kathryn Riley and Associate Chair Greg Pulliam. Dean of Students Doug Geiger then presented each winner with his or her prize money and a certificate. Entrants also received an IIT mug emblazoned with "Wriiter."
The Writing Contest was begun in 1965, with endowments from benefactors Mollie Cohen and Edwin H. Lewis. Ms. Cohen was an Armour College graduate in 1924, later a Professor of literature at IIT for many years, and had a passion for poetry.
Known as a 'Renaissance Man,' Edwin H. Lewis taught English and philosophy, and held administrative positions here for forty years. His association with the university began in the late nineteenth century, and continued into the '30s. He was a 'humorist, a musician, and a poet,' according to our IIT Hall of Fame.
Writers at IIT throughout the years have been inspired by and grateful to these two thoughtful and generous philanthropists.
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