"I have a fascination with the moment of absolute change in a narrative, the point of no return, of suspense, when the reader is on the edge of their seat, wondering if the hero will succeed." Hear more from Cate on our Fiction episode!

ArtWords is an annual writing competition for undergraduate and graduate students of the University of Minnesota, sponsored by the Weisman Art Museum. Students select a piece of art on display from the museum's permanent collection and create an original piece of prose or poetry in response. Selected authors are awarded prizes, published online, and given the opportunity to present their work in galleries of the museum. ArtWords is held in collaboration with the Department of English's Creative Writing program and The Tower art and literary magazine. A jury including faculty, Weisman Art Museum staff, professionals from the Twin Cities community, and staff members of The Tower select the winning entries.
Launched in 1998, ArtWords encourages students to analyze, reflect, and respond to the diverse and stimulating collection at the Weisman Art Museum. This is The Tower's seventh year as an ArtWords collaborator, and we are happy to present the 2020 undergraduate ArtWords winners in this year's issue.