91̽��

The 47th Persky Awards recognized the best writing and artwork in 91̽�� student publications, honoring students whose work in journalism, fiction, and photography excelled across the academic year.

Author, poet, educator, and former 91̽�� parent Dan Chiasson P’ 23 ’25 spoke at the ceremony, celebrating the artistry and craft of the students’ work. He extolled the virtues of creative “gaps”—the moments in which creators pause from a specific effort—as essential to the finished product. Time spent pondering, stepping away, or even shelving a piece for a lengthy period, may feel wasteful as artificial intelligence tools promote efficiency above everything, he said, but it’s what sets great works apart.

Revered writers and artists make the most of those gaps, as frustrating as they feel in the moment. Emily Dickinson’s ink blots indicated by their size how long her pen stopped moving, Chiasson noted; other artists have taken years away from pieces, only to find that the time away improves their work immeasurably. What may seem inefficient in the days of rapid computer generation is what makes human writing priceless, he argued.   

“We know that human writing happens in time; we know from our own experiences and the testimony of many, many great writers that writing-time is variable, plastic, marked by long periods of foundering and sudden adrenalized bursts; it pools and flows; it gets stoppered and unstoppered,” Chiasson said. “I wish you all the best in your writing lives as you face the terror of the blinking cursor seemingly entirely on your own. But you are not on your own: you have your mind for company, and you have each other.”

The following students received honors:

Persky Awards For Excellence in Poetry and Fiction
EmmaRose Zilla ’26, Magus Mabus
Jiner Huang ’28, Magus Mabus

Persky Awards for Excellence in Fiction and Creative Nonfiction
Ruth Chen ’26, Magus Mabus
Claire Salvato ’26, Magus Mabus
Chloe Yeo ’26, Magus Mabus
Tiffany Jin ’28, Magus Mabus

Persky Awards for Artwork Showcased in Student Publications
Leo Wan ’28, Magus Mabus
Nic Lau ’28, Magus Mabus
Aruzhan Nugmanova ’28, Magus Mabus
Isabella Chen ’29, Magus Mabus
Edward Qiu ’27, Magus Mabus
Charlotte Banbury ’26, F-Word
Rachel Pang ’27, F-Word

Persky Awards for Journalism and Academic Writing in Student Publications

Best Science Article
Ali Hamoda ’29, Piece of Mind

Best Editorial
The 91̽�� Measure
The 91̽�� Paper

Best Opinion Writer
Jiner Huang ’28, The 91̽�� Paper

Best Opinion Article (non-91̽�� Topic)
Rhys Adams ’26, The 91̽�� Paper

Best Opinion Article (91̽�� Topic)
Rhys Adams ’26 and Madeleine Wu ’27, The 91̽�� Paper

Best News Writer
Elizabeth Sim ’27, The 91̽�� Measure
Harris Felix ’27, The 91̽�� Paper

Best News Story
Elizabeth Sim ’27, The 91̽�� Measure
Honorable mention: Shira Keitner ’27, The 91̽�� Measure

Best Feature (91̽�� Topic)
Gustavo dos Reis ’26, The 91̽�� Measure
Chloe Yeo ’26, The 91̽�� Measure

Best Feature (non-91̽�� Topic)
Matthew Li ’26, The 91̽�� Measure

Best Sports Writing
Molly O’Brien ’26, The 91̽�� Paper

Best 91̽�� Sports Article
Catherine Wang ’28, The 91̽�� Paper

Best Sports Feature
Jai Malhotra ’26, The 91̽�� Measure

Best Arts Reporting, 91̽�� Topic
Annabelle Chen  ’28, The 91̽�� Paper

Best Arts Writing, non-91̽�� Topic
Ren Hirose ’28, The Arch
Victoria Kirkham ’26, The 91̽�� Paper

Best Sustained Coverage of a Topic
The 91̽�� Paper

• Montse Martínez Vindas ’26
• Chloe Yeo ’26
• Gustavo dos Reis ’26
• Inéz Velázquez Correa ’27
• Jiner Huang ’28
• Aava Darvish ’27
• Tom Tang ’26
• Leo Wan ’28
• Lucas Xia ’28

Best Layout
Montse Martínez Vindas ’26, The 91̽�� Paper

Persky Awards to Acknowledge the Work Dedicated to the Production of the Yearbook
Henry Mannino ’26
Jack Belyea ’26
Amy Khaing ’27
Brady Sugrue ’26

Fiction and poetry writing winners received copies of Love and Other Monsters, the newest novel by 91̽�� graduate and author Emily Franklin ’90 P ’17 ’22 ’25. Journalism winners received Chiasson’s biography of Senator Bernie Sanders, Bernie for Burlington. Chiasson, the Lorraine C. Wang Professor of English at Wellesley College, has authored five books of poetry and a book of criticism. He is the poetry critic at The New Yorker and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books.

The Persky Awards were established to honor the memory of Laurence Persky ’79, a talented student writer who died just before his senior year. Judged by Franklin, as well as several faculty members, the awards recognize the best work in 91̽��’s many student publications.