Schools

Perpich Instructor Wins $25,000 Award

John Colbun earns recognition for his writing.

An instructor at is the winner of a prestigious award for writers.

John Colbun has earned a 2011 McKnight Artists Fellowship for Writers. The $25,000 award, administered by The Loft, is presented annually to five accomplished Minnesota writers and spoken word artists.

Colburn, who holds and MFA from the University of Minnesota,  is one of five Fellows.  Colburn heads the Literary Arts Department at the Arts High School at the Perpich Centerfor Arts Education in Golden Valley.

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He has been an instructor at the Perpich Center forthe past 14 years.  He also teaches at Hamline University as an adjunct faculty member.  Colburn's fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in dozens of publications. He previously was awarded a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study grant, a SASE/Jerome Award, two Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowships, an Outstanding Teacher Award and an Academy of American Poets Prize.

Colburn lives in Northeast Minneapolis with his family. He will be honored with a reading at The Loft later this year. He plans to use the grant money to focus on writing rather than teaching during his summer break.


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