Cameron Barnett, who teaches language arts and world history to elementary students at Pitt’s Falk Laboratory School, is the recipient of this year’s $15,000 Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Award for Emerging Artist.
Barnett, 30, is the author of the 2017 book of poetry “The Drowning Boy’s Guide to Water.” He studied poetry at Pitt with Terrance Hayes, Yona Harvey, Lynn Emmanuel and Dawn Lundy Martin.
Receiving the award will allow him to attend a writers’ retreat next year, pay off some student loans and do more in-depth research on his family history, he told the Post-Gazette.
The awards are sponsored by the Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Foundation. Barnett and Adriana Ramirez, winner of the $15,000 Carol E. Brown Established Artist award, will be honored at a free, open-to-the-public event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse.