Ward prize honors Midd writers

Author: Zoey L. Burrows

On Friday, Oct. 28, Sarah Bray '08 won the 27th presentation of the Paul Ward '25 Prize for excellence in writing by first-year students for her art history essay, "The Erotic Drawings of Augustine Rodin: A Feminist Approach."

This year a record 37 students were nominated. Students are nominated by their instructors, who give exceptional papers to an interdisciplinary panel of faculty judges. These judges read the papers and decide on one winner who receives $500, two runners-up who receive $250 each and four honorable mentions.

Associate Professor of English Kathleen Skubikowski commenced the award presentation and introduced guest speaker David Haward Bain, a lecturer in creative writing. He said that after 19 years at Middlebury, he is quite proud of the accomplishments of the College's writers, whether students or faculty.

Bain spoke of a "bragging shelf" in his office, heavy with past students' work. He proudly listed publications and prizes featuring Middlebury alumni, including the Whiting Award, Harper's Journal, the Christian Science Monitor and personal novels.

"The bragging shelf has room for more," he told the prize nominees. Of his fellow creative writing faculty he boasted, "We have a solid core and an identity. I think the department has a lot to be proud of."

The professors explained their reason for nominating each first-year student. There were four honorable mentions for essays by sophomores Michael Fletcher, Joseph Giacomelli, Emily Peterson and Jonathan Sherr. Runners-up Alexis Mussomeli and Lauren Sullivan, both '08, both read excerpts from their essays.

Mussomeli's essay entitled "Amidst the Commotion, a Beauty in Simplicity," was written for an art survey class and analyzed two water jugs from the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Eliza Garrison, instructor in history of art and architecture, described the essay as "poetic and visual."

Sullivan's essay, "Distinct Presence: The Survival of Mary the Magdalene's Spirituality in Art," written for a religion course with Visiting Instructor Maria Hatigeorgiou, compared four photos of the Virgin Mary and argued that Mary was one of Jesus' strongest disciples and "the prime comforter." Her professor described her writing style as "beautiful, lucid and graceful," making her forget that she was reading a first-year's work.

Bray read several excerpts from her 20-page research paper written for Professor of History of Art and Architecture John Hunisak's first-year seminar. According to a proud Hunisak, Bray regards herself as an artist and scholar, and "can say exactly what she means."

Bray's central idea was that Rodin's "drawings assert the power of femininity." She argued that Rodin's conception of women was revolutionary because although "women are the protagonists in Rodin's late paintings," they are not portrayed as the objects of male desire.

Bray also touched on Rodin's relationship of mutual respect with his models, which lent strength to his art. Finally, Bray wrote that women's creativity, like Rodin's, leads to new life.

On the selection process, judge Skubikowski remarked that the top 10 essays are ranked separately and then the judges collaborate to narrow them down. She said that "almost always the number one paper stands out unanimously."

"The hardest part," Skubikowski said, is that "we're comparing apples and oranges." She concluded that the prize "privileges writing style, voice and originality."

The Paul W. Ward '25 Memorial Prize was established in 1978 by his widow, Dorothy Ward '28. Paul Ward was a journalist and diplomatic reporter - careers that brought him the Pulitzer Prize and the French Legion of Honor. In her letter of bequest to the College, Mrs. Ward wrote, "During his long career, he emphasized the use of basic English as a writer's most necessary tool."