Eve Ewing, an assistant professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, was selected to receive the Paul Engle Prize at the Iowa City Book Festival. Dr. Ewing is the 10th winner of the Engle Prize.
Paul Engle was a Cedar Rapids native, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop director, and co-founder of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program. The award honors writers who demonstrate a pioneering spirit in the world of literature and a commitment to engaging with the issues of the day. It comes with a cash award and a one-of-a-kind work of art.
Dr. Ewing’s most recent poetry collection, 1919 (Haymarket Books, 2019), explores a race riot in Chicago during the summer of that year. She also is the author of the non-fiction work Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side (University of Chicago Press, 2018).
Born and raised in the Logan Square community of Chicago, Dr. Ewing is an alumna of Chicago Public Schools. She received a bachelor’s degree with honors in English language and literature from the University of Chicago, with a focus on African-American literature of the twentieth century. She holds a master’s degree in elementary education from Dominican University and a master’s degree in education policy and management and a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.