Natasha Trethewey Wins $250,000 Heinz Award

The Heinz Family Foundation named Natasha Trethewey as the recipient of the 22nd Heinz Award, valued at $250,000, in the Arts and Humanities category.

Trethewey is honored for her achievements as a poet and writer whose works, such as Native Guard: Poems, Domestic Work, and Bellocq’s Ophelia: Poems, "intertwine personal and public histories of loss, grief, joy, and hope," according to the Heinz Family Foundation, which administers the Heinz award.

Established in 1993 in memory of U.S. Senator John Heinz, the awards recognize six people "who have made significant contributions in five distinct areas of great importance to Senator Heinz: Arts and Humanities; Environment; Human Condition; Public Policy; and Technology, the Economy and Employment," according to the foundation. The 22nd Heinz Awards are also going to the following, who will receive their awards in Pittsburgh on October 18:

Environment: Gregory Asner, Ph.D., Stanford, California
Human Condition: Angela Blanchard, Houston, Texas
Public Policy: Mona Hanna-Attisha, M.D., Flint, Michigan
Technology, the Economy and Employment: Joseph DeSimone, Ph.D., Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Redwood City, California