CCNY Poetry Outreach Center director Pamela Laskin wins second freedom literacy award

Pamela L. Laskin, director of The City College of New York’s Poetry Outreach Center, is celebrating her second consecutive Freedom Through Literacy Board Option Award from the Pennsylvania-based Judith’s Reading Room. The international honor is for her latest work, a series of picture books that capture the world of those who are differently-abled, particularly those without speech. 

“Through her work, this diverse population will no longer be marginalized as she brings her books into public school classrooms with the goal to educate a mainstream audience,” Laskin is cited by Judith’s Reading Room, a charitable organization founded in 2010 to enrich lives and societies by proactively encouraging freedom through literacy. “For her persistence in presenting differently-abled people, she is helping establish human dignity with a focus on what can be done, not what can't. For this, we honor her with a Board Option Award.”

"Books have been written about children with special needs, but what makes my project innovative is that the books are written from the point of view of the young people who ARE differently-abled," said Laskin.

She first received the Freedom Through Literacy award last year for her work to enable children to unload their grief and to empower voices through poetry. 

The international award was established by Judith’s Reading Room in 2015 to identify and honor individual champions of literacy from all disciplines around the world — teachers, librarians, authors, researchers, educators — anyone who has done exemplary work to instill in others a love of reading.

An award-winning poet, children’s book author, and English lecturer at CCNY, Laskin is the editor of two anthologies, “Life on the Moon: My Best Friend's Secrets” (Linus Publications, 2009), and “The Heroic Young Woman” (Clique Calm, 2006). She is the author of two young adult novels, “Ronit and Jamil” (Harper Collins, 2017), and “Why no Goodbye?” (Leapfrog Press, 2019). The latter won the International Fiction Prize.

About Judith’s Reading Room
A nonprofit literacy organization based in eastern Pennsylvania, Judith’s Reading Room was founded in 2010 in memory of Judith F. Krug, a librarian and cousin to the organization’s founders.  To date, the organization has dedicated 103 libraries in 22 countries.  Krug served as Director of Intellectual Freedom for the American Library Association where she protected the freedom to read.

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.