Announcing the 25-26 D.A. Brown Essay Award Winners

Each year, English faculty nominate the top essays from their lower- and upper-level literature courses for the department’s D.A. Brown Essay Awards. This summer, two students were recognized for exemplary essays written in the 2025-2026 academic year.

The 25-26 D.A. Brown Upper Level Essay Award:
Audrey Blandford ’26, “Lives Out of Sync in Giovanni’s Room,” submitted in Professor Solomon’s ENG 302 upper-division course.

The 25-26 D.A. Brown Core Level Essay Award:
Jordan Lang ’28, “Underlying Connotations: Natasha Trethewey’s ‘Beyond’ as a Linguistic Challenge to the Katrina Narrative,” submitted in Professor Farmer’s ENG 150 lower-division course.

About D.A. Brown:

The late D.A. Brown was a member of the English Department for many years. He was noted for his high standards, and on his retirement, a fund was established to recognize excellence in writing. Each year the English department recognizes exemplary writers in creative writing, 100-level literature courses, and 300-level literature courses in his name.