Annual writing awards from the Center of the American West urge students to re-examine and reflect on the American West
The American Westâs historyâand our creation and representation of itâis messy.
Thatâs at least according to anÌęaward-winning essayÌęby Josh Boissevain (Jourâ06) which re-examines Cormac McCarthyâs book,ÌęBlood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West.
Blood MeridianÌęis a western that focuses on a teenager known only as âthe kidâ as he joins a historical group of scalp hunters. The book, sometimes considered one of the best American novels of all time, is known for its extreme violence and for its depiction of the U.S. imperialism in the mid-19th century desert Southwest.
And it is those depictions that interested Boissevain, who won the Undergraduate Nonfiction category award from the Thompson Writing Awards in 2006 for his reflection on the book as an update to the mythology of the American West.
The Thompson Writing Awards, given out every year byÌęthe Center of the American WestÌęat the ČÊĂń±Š”ä, recognize writings related to the American West. They are now accepting applications for the 2020 cycle, which closes March 17, 2020.
Could you be the next winner?
SevenÌę$500Ìęprizes will be awarded to ČÊĂń±Š”ä students in the Spring of 2020 for writings on Western American topics.
Learn more about the contest rules on the Center of the American West website.
âIt (the award) was a great opportunity because I didnât know what I was going to do with this idea that I had and who I would give it to because I wasnât really doing it for a class, so who was going to read it?â said Boissevain, now an attorney practicing water law and a member of the Center of the American Westâs Board of Directors.Ìę
âIt was great to have that as a place that I could send it off and, maybe Iâd do well, maybe I wouldnât, but at least someone would read it. And it gave me that motivation to put it together and work hard on it and make it look good.â
The Thompson Writing Awards, endowed by Jack (Histâ64) and Jeannie (Zoolâ64) Thompson in 2004, is open to open to undergraduate and graduate ČÊĂń±Š”ä students. In 2020, there will be seven $500 prizes awarded to the genres of poetry, fiction, memoir, academic nonfiction and creative nonfiction. Students are welcome to apply to one or all of the categories using works they created for class or on their own.
(Re)Defining the American West
The American West is more than just a geographic region, the center contends. Itâs an ethos, a foundation, a quality of âWesternness,â that permeates the American identity.
It (the award) was a great opportunity because I didnât know what I was going to do with this idea that I had and who I would give it to because I wasnât really doing it for a class, so who was going to read it?ââ
Which means the topic can mean different things to different people.Ìę
Geographically, the West is the area between the 100th Meridian and the Pacific Coastâitâs the Great Plains, Continental Divide, desert of the southwestâand all the history therein. Within that area are also regional and local aspects of lifeârodeos, ranches, suburbs, mines, horses, wildlifeâand then thereâs the West of dreams, expectations, hopes. All of these topics are equally part âwesternâ and fair game for students writing for the awards.
For Boissevainâs essay, there are actually two ways of looking at the West. Thereâs the âoldâ West, a kind of traditional American mythologyâcowboys and Indians, pioneers, wide-open landscapesâpopularized by movies, newspapers and literature of the time. Then thereâs the ânewâ West, which emerged from the social and cultural movements of the 1960s to, in part, reject that the West simply âended.â Instead, it looks at the West as a region thatâs alive and well and one that deserves a critical eye for its violence and for leaving certain groups of peoples out of the story (including indigenous populations, women and non-white immigrants).
Boissevain claims in his essay thatÌęBlood MeridianÌęis an attempt to revitalize the old western American myth but from the perspective of the new West.Ìę
âAt the time, I didnât know if anyone would be interested because I didnât know anybody else who was readingÌęBlood MeridianÌęor Cormac McCarthy,â said Boissevain. âI was super thrilled to find out when I won.â
A full list of past winners can be found onÌęthe Center of the American Westâs website.