American Essay Contest Awards, Readings & Discussion

Saturday, April 27
2:00-5:00 pm

This special presentation will take place at the Holmes Whaley Lake Civic Association. The HWLCA is located at 239 Route 292 in Holmes, NY.

All participants will have the opportunity to read their essays with a discussion led by Dr. Robin Lester, author and former headmaster of the Trinity School in New York City.

Special thanks to our juror Thomas Walogorsky, editor of The Pawling Record.

Inspired by the PBS documentary American Creed, this writing contest asked young writers to examine the question, “Who gets to be counted as ‘American’ and why?” The film can be viewed at americancreed.org. Have a voice in your community. Let your words be read and heard. Please join us by participating in this program.

About our speaker: Robin Lester is a graduate of the University of Chicago where he earned his Ph.D. in history and went on to become an award winning historian. In 1996 he was awarded Book of the Year by The North American Society for Sport History for his book STAGG’S UNIVERSITY: The Rise, Decline, and Fall of Big-Time Football at Chicago. His writing has appeared in such publications as the Journal of American History, the Journal of Sports History, and The New York Times. In his youth he was a semi-finalist in the national VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars, essay contest.

Registration is required. Call the Pawling Library at 845-855-3444 to register or send an email to Donald at adult@pawlinglibrary.org.