The awards will be presented on April 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Rare Book Room of the Lamar Soutter Library.
Medical students and residents will take a break from the work they do in labs and clinics to focus on a different sort of work—their creative writing projects. Winners of the eighth annual Gerald F. Berlin Prizes for Creative Writing will be honored at UMass Medical School on Wednesday, April 11. Recipients will read excerpts from their award-winning poems and essays at the ceremony, which will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Rare Book Room of the Lamar Soutter Library.
Established to recognize the creative writing talents of UMMS students from all three schools and residency training programs, the Gerald F. Berlin Creative Writing competition is made possible by the generous support of award-winning poet and physician Richard Berlin, MD, senior affiliate in psychiatry. Submitted poems and essays are judged blindly by a panel comprising members of the Medical School’s Humanities in Medicine Committee. The competition is jointly sponsored by the Offices of Student Affairs and Educational Affairs and the Humanities in Medicine Committee, with support from the Lamar Soutter Library.
For the second year in a row, first prize goes to Noah Rosenberg, SOM ’12, this time for a poem. Rosenberg also received a cash prize of $100, and will have his entry published in both Worcester Medicine and the Berkshire Medical Journal.
The full slate of winners is:
First prize:
Noah Rosenberg, SOM ’12, for his poem Coming of age in Baghdad
Second prize:
Lindsay Johnson, SOM ’15, for her poem Muse on Children in a Leprosy Colony
Third Prize:
Caleb J. Dresser, SOM ’15, for his essay A Glossary for Redemption
Honorable Mention:
Patrick Bonavitacola, SOM ’14, for his poem Buttered Toast
Christopher Chang, MD, (resident) for his poem I know the orange chair
Ciarán DellaFera, SOM ’12, for his essay Forgive them, for they know not what they do
Cara Weinstein, SOM ’15, for her essay Once Again
Related link:
Berlin publishes second volume of poems
