Gus Blaisdell Award in Critical Writing

From the moment he arrived in New Mexico in 1964, Gus Blaisdell (1935–2003) was a legendary presence. Famous in Albuquerque as a writer, teacher, publisher, editor, and especially as the proprietor of the Living Batch bookstore, Blaisdell was also a brilliant critic whose essays influenced readers throughout the country and across the Atlantic.

The Gus Blaisdell Award in Critical Writing honors his time as a professor at UNM, and the many students that he inspired. The award is given to an outstanding student in Film & Digital Arts at the College of Fine Arts spring convocation each year.