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Hear Ye, Hear Ye
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Requests and literary news
~YWA Literary Arts à la carte ~ contact YWA
• YWA takes requests for special projects. It's as if YWA is a kitchen and folks can request their favorite dish, or ask for a dish with certain ingredients for a tasty special-- YWA literary kitchens!
• Request in school residencies, YEA!Days, WILCS, Triads, Flight, ArtsParties, TAGLab Intensives or Stories From Here
• Request after school, non-school days and special projects. Your community group, parent group, library or community businesses partner, may want to sponsor writing workshops, after school writing groups or one of our integrated literary arts explorations.
~ Share information on local literary arts opportunities for youth~ contact YWA
• YWA wants information to post about what others are doing-- their literary arts opportunities for youth. We want to get that information out in as many ways as we can. Families so want to know.
• Please send us your information on Lane County, Oregon literary arts opportunities for youth and we will share it on our website & Facebook page.
• Like us on Facebook to receive our postings-- go to Facebook, Young Writers Association (Lane County, Oregon) or click on the Facebook icon on our home page and "like us".
~ Links: what others are doing
-- Tsunami Books has TWO open mic opportunities for all ages. Call them to find out when the next ones will be held: 541-345-8986. Find Tsunami at 2585 Willamette Street, Eugene.
1. All-Ages Open Mic Poetry and Jazz ($5-10, includes admission to the slam)
2. This is followed by The Eugene All-Ages Poetry Tslam. Performance poets get 3 minutes 11 seconds limit per poem, original work only. ($5-10 admission)
-- Lane Library League has contact information for public and volunteer libraries in Lane County
-- Oregon Poetry Association has an annual contest for youth.
-- Honoring Our Rivers, accepts river-related submissions from youth. Application
-- Skipping Stones Multicultural Magazine publishes youth. Here are the submission guidelines.
-- Setting Forth-- on a Literary Itinerary would like to include writing by children in the magazine. Find out more at http://settingForth.org
-- UO Youth Enrichment/TAG has partnered with Young Writers Association for many years. YE/TAG offers enrichment in all subject areas to eager, able learners.
-- Wordcrafters in Eugene is a new literary arts non profit focusing on fiction and craft. They include both adult and young writers in their programming. Wordcrafters offers an annual creative writing contest for youth, and for 2015, team up with Lane Arts Council to offer writing and visual arts labs on no school days.
-- Oregon Humane Society's 67th Annual Be Kind to Animals Poster & Story Contest deadline for Oregon and Clark County Washington for grades 1-8 is December 18, 2015.
-- School-aged writers are invited to sign-up to read their original writing at The Poetry Stage @ The Festival Of Eugene in late August (festivalofeugene.com ). The Reading is featured in Festival of Eugene advertising as a Sunday afternoon student reading or open mic for their friends and family to enjoy. To sign-up or get more information contact C. Steven Blue by email: Steven Schreiner (Pen name: C. Steven Blue) is Publisher/Managing Editor of Arrowcloud Press, a poet, as well as a producer and host of annual poetry events here in Eugene (website: website: www.wordsongs.com). He produces and hosts The Poetry Stage @ The Festival Of Eugene.
-- Lane Literary Guild has a helpful list of literary arts links on their webpage.
-- Mid-Valley Willamette Writers is the largest writers' organization in Oregon. Lindy Cady shares some tips for young writers on developing characters in Lamp World, on YouTube. The video was shot in the office of Willamette Writers.
-- Sallie Vandagrift taught after school workshops for Young Writers Association for a number of years and has started a literary arts organization for youth: salmonhousewriters.com.
-- Ophelia's Place is a supportive community for girls, located at 1577 Pearl St. #100, in Eugene. They sometimes offer creative writing classes on site after school, and during their annual Girls Rule Event at Lane Community College: http://www.opheliasplace.net
-- Upstart Crow Studios sometimes offers a class on script writing in their Studios on 855 W. 1st Avenue in Eugene.
Enjoy Roller Coaster by YWA's 4th & 5th grade Wild Imagination Group
Roller Coaster
Up and down like a humming bird hovering,
The ear-splitting shriek of the metal rails.
Light wind the color of lilacs,
The speed of a storm,
The death of all worries.
Sitting in a casket of screams and laughter,
Racing with the cobra
Feeling as small as a finch.
by Santina Donnelly, Wilson Garland, Dhruthi Mandavilli, Meghan McMahan, Adrianna Ripley, Ashley Schmittle, Aiden Turpin, Kate Vu, Esther Yang, Nathan Yeh
See Details
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Young People Writing and Wordplay- YWA Special Requests
YWA~Young People Writing and Wordplay Around Town
Community members asked for the following YWA Special Projects -- you can too.
YWA Special Request led by Jon Labrouse and Dave Prince writing + art + super heroes, a lab for teens:
Teen Epic Poetry Poster Production Workshop
Most people don't make the leap to Action/Adventure when they think about art and poetry. Fortunately, artist, David Prince, and poet, Jon Labrousse, are not 'most people.' Beauty in nature is a wonder to contemplate, without a doubt, but it's a lot more exciting when the squirrels are clad in all black, and armed with nunchakus and ninjato. Existential angst is a lot more thrilling when the humdrum woes of the world can be solved with super powers and flaming battle axes. Develop compelling characters, in words and images, and put them through heroic trials. Compose truly Epic verse, celebrating their story. Best of all, put it all together in a poster complete with artwork and illustrations that you can take home and hang on your wall as a totem against the doldrums, and as an inspiration to action!
• Science Fiction writing for middle school and high school writers YWA Special Request led by teaching writer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman:
Invent a story using dice! Come to this workshop ready to write. We'll roll dice to choose characters, companions, future devices, and more! Let's see how much you can discover and write about!
• Writing Mentor YWA Special Request: a young writer works one-on-one with a teaching writer weekly to test writing tips, explore writing remedies and indulge in the pleasure of words.
• Exercise Your Wild Imagination writing group YWA Special Request:
Give your creative brain a workout while discovering writers your own age. Try different writing ideas prompted by stories, drama games, art, or by odd and familiar objects. Write and illustrate. Play with language and surprise in your original stories and poems. Each packed meeting, experiment with writing tips, and “workshop” your writing in small groups through positive constructive feedback. Find out about potential publishing opportunities and how to submit your work. For our 8th meeting, invite friends and family to hear original writing from our term together. Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse leads this after school group.
• Boys' Writing Club after school YWA Special Request: A writing adventure for inventive boys to explore through writing, “…places not down in any map; true places never are.” Herman Melville
 • Storyteller! YWA Special Request: Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse tells to mixed-age gatherings from school-wide celebrations and festivals to classrooms and libraries.
Louisa’s words come to life with a power and honesty that engages every cell. Her work is fresh, alive, joyful. She is a mesmerizing performer. Margo Van Ummersen, parent and choreographer
You lit up the Dock Street Theatre and the faces of your most appreciative audience. Carol Furtwangler, Coordinator, Sundown Festival, Spoletto USA
Louisa captivated our students, staff, and parents with her ability to make a story come to life. She kept the audience spellbound throughout the story. ... If you have a chance to see one of Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse’s story telling performances, you will see an artist who conveys her love of story and its message through all she says and does. Kathi Dew, Principal, Thurston Elementary
• Poetry-writing YWA Special Request for middle school and high school writers:
LOST AND FOUND: a poetry workshop with Kelly Terwilliger In this workshop we will write our way into and through the realm of Lost and Found to see what we uncover... 1. the room (or table, or box) where misplaced things are gathered, 2. what happens when something lost is recovered, 3. what happens when what is lost stays at least somewhat lost; when something new is discovered...
• Take Flight is an in-school program from the Science Factory and Young Writers Association. We present a day of creative exploration in science, creative writing and visual arts. See the details here.
• Mess With Words-Inventing Wild Family Tales YWA Special Request for mixed-aged Family Time:
Inspired by a folktale,  exercise creativity in action packed wordplay. Tell, illustrate, act and imagine both solo and in family teams. Led by Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse.
• Poetry-writing YWA Special Request for middle school and high school writers:
Out of the Ordinary, the Voices of Poetry: a poetry workshop with Carter McKenzie To shut our eyes is Travel. Emily Dickinson Where do poems hide? What feeds them so that they emerge, making their presence known through the immediacy of the senses of sound, sight, smell, taste, texture? Through unexpected associations and recognition of kindred spirits conjured by all of these elements? During this hour, we explore how your own poems might take place out of the ordinary world, and beyond assumptions, through engaging writing exercises, and through the inspiration of poetry by a range of writers including Naomi Shihab Nye, William Stafford, Gary Soto, W.S. Merwin, and Emily Dickinson.
Writers! Unfurl Fine Writing! Join a Writing Lab Intensive. Each packed morning, meet with writers your age to work with a different published author, talk with a representative for potential publishing opportunities, and “workshop” your writing in small groups through positive constructive feedback. Facilitated by Young Writers Association founder, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse.
Do you have a Special Request for YWA? Would you like to see a writing club at your school, or a writing residency or classroom visit? Let's look at possibilities-- contact YWA.
See Details
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Take Flight in school with SF and YWA
Take Flight Outreach Program
Take Flight is an in-school program from the Science Factory and Young Writers Association. In this three hour program, teachers from the Science Factory and Young Writers Association (YWA) visit your school to present a day of creative exploration in science, creative writing and visual arts.
The day begins with a 3o-minute introduction to the theme of the program: flying machines, both real and imaginary, as told through stories and demonstrations.
Afterwards, students will participate in a series of activities around the theme:
● Words Aloft: Students mess with words to build vivid poems or stories inspired by the art of writing and the science of flight. They will notice how the forces of flight can match elements of strong writing for inventive and imaginative possibilities.
● From the Drawing Board: Using observation, imagination, and scientific information, young artists and scientists will create wondrous drawings of flying contraptions. Looking at images from the natural world, including flying and gliding animals and seeds, students will choose characteristics to use in the design of new and extraordinary airborne inventions.
● Wind Tunnel Testing: Students will build their own prototype lightweight flying machines out of household materials, then test them in a vertical wind tunnel. They will observe the extent to which they balance the forces of gravity, lift, thrust, and drag, as well as the degree of stability their aircraft achieves. They will then have the chance to revise and re-test their craft, just as good engineering practice requires in the real world.
Who is eligible?
The program is designed for students in grades 1 to 6. Up to three full classes (or 120 students) within the same school may sign up jointly for a day. The school must be located within a 40-mile radius of Eugene.
» Take Flight Teacher Information Sheet [pdf]
» Take Flight Outreach Registration Form [pdf]
Teachers or principals may contact the Science Factory in order to reserve an available date, then complete registration form for submission.
Read about some of the Young Writers Association artists and writers.
Take Flight, a multidisciplinary project of the Science Factory and Young Writers Association, is made possible by grants from the Jane and Howard Glazer Fund, Koons Family Fund, and Fred W. Fields Fund, each of the Oregon Community Foundation, and from the US Bancorp Foundation.
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Trailblazing Triads for schools
What are your students learning in math? As students master material, explore the core math concepts and vocabulary through dance and creative writing with dancer Margo VanUmmersen and teaching writer, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse. Contact YWA to find out more.
Trailblazing Triads Train the Brain! Young Writers Association teams up with classroom teachers to support classroom learning with customized interdisciplinary residencies. Bring into your classroom, professionals who have a passion for their discipline and as role models, show what is possible in the discipline they love. Choose one academic goal and explore it in the traditional classroom method as well as through dance (or visual arts) and writing to promote American ingenuity and boost brainpower.
The care & feeding of American Ingenuity
• Bring in Arts Partners for the Classroom teacher
• See creative arts and academics work together to support student learning
• Keep the artists’ customized lessons for your future classes
• Invite friends and family to a community celebration of your students’ unique synthesis and solutions
Dear Educators,
Why make time for this? In the 1990’s American creativity (CQ) scores began falling. They are still falling (Bronson and Merryman, 2010). Neuroscience (Willis 2006) says our brains process, store, and retrieve material more effectively as we become more fluid (creative) thinkers. It is precisely those lessons and disciplines that encourage creativity that are most often abandoned as schools face limited resources and the pressures of standardized testing. Let’s make time for interdisciplinary learning triads and turn the tide.
Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse, YWA
Triad teaching artists' bios
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Publishings & Readings
Publishing youth is a community project! Thank you for helping YWA publish Lane county kids and teens for 20 years!
PUBLICATIONS through YWA
• YWA's free creative writing journal UPSTARTS
• Buy a CD of kids and teens reading for radio! YWA's MIXED VOICES on KLCC/NPR, 89.7
• YWA writers are on panels for the City of Eugene’s STEP INTO STORIES parking garage project. Visit the Epark Facebook Page here.
• ywa literature illuminated, digital storytelling project, here
• CONTESTS: YWA will no longer host these contests. We encourage you to hold your own school-wide or community group contests and celebration of winners.
The fall YWA SCARY WRITING contest, deadline on the 4th Friday in September. Winners are published on the YWA website.
YWA GLITTERARY Contest: winter-spring creative writing contest , deadline on the 1st of February, with changing theme. Winners are published on the YWA website.
• READINGS:
Businesses, museums, galleries and libraries step up to host student reading receptions. Volunteers coordinate these celebratory events. We’ll keep you updated on facebook.
• BLOGS:
YWA WRITE AN ADVENTURE workshop is no longer active, but enjoy the blog
YWA Writers in Lane County Schools, Crow High School blog
YWA Writers in Lane County Schools, Gateway High School blog
YWA Writers in Lane County Schools, Kalapuya High blogs: Group 1; Group 2
Donations keep these opportunities alive for our young people
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
• Skipping Stones Magazine submission guidelines
• Honoring Our Rivers student anthology Application
• Oregon Poetry Association has an annual contest for youth.
• Wordcrafters of Eugene has a fiction-writing contest for young writers.
• Setting Forth--on a Literary Itinerary would like to include writing by children in the magazine. Find out more at http://settingForth.org
• Oregon Humane Society Poster & Story Contest for grades 1-8
See Details
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ywa literature illuminated web-publishing
ywa literature illuminated
A digital storytelling project, ywa literature illuminated showcases original illustrated writing by youth. Listen to recorded stories and poems while letting your eyes linger on visual components. This project was made possible by Mary Duke, a practicum student in the Arts and Administration Program at the University of Oregon.
Click here to enjoy the ywa literature illuminated publishing project.
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YWA Drawn to the Word, UpStarts Anthology II
Drawn to the Word, UpStarts Anthology II
 Image by Kathleen Caprario, Untitled
Untitled by Flora Winters, age 18
She keeps everything in.
In her room
Books in rows
Clothes in the closet
Feelings in her heart.
Only the river can Wash away her good intentions.
I’m going out to sea, he calls.
He drags leaves and branches
Melts stones round
Whistling all the while.
She lets it carry her tears out with it.
Nature cannot be held in.
Drawn to the Word, UpStarts Anthology II, $15 Click to contact YWA.
Order your copy by mail with a check.
YWA has been publishing youth for twenty years and this is our second anthology. We designed a collection showcasing ten years of imaginative, lively writing by Lane County young people. Drawing us into the different words of the writers, local artists donated illustrations and abstract art created in response to the poems and stories that particularly stirred them. With words and image, we have a one-of-a-kind publication to savor and to return to again and again.
Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate writes in her introduction to Drawn to the Word: "In one of the poems included in this collection, seventeen-year-old James Emery states that 'No price can be given/ To something that can’t be touched/ But can touch you…,' and the creative writing showcased in Drawn to the Word is, indeed, both priceless and touching."
And Greg Kirby, fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Oregon, who helped sift through thirty issues of UpStarts, writes: "From the comforts of family, to fears of darkness and vampires, and from humorous stories of dragons and sloth to writing inspired by Oregon and its rain—these writings are inspirational and a joy to read."
YWA writers published in Drawn to the Word
Evan Arkin, Jaime Armstrong, Sara Balsom, Cooper Barnes, Emily Beckstrand, Mary Biwersi, Martha Brasted-Maki, Savannah Coen, Cameron Cota, Kaleb Crouch, Melina Deinum-Buck, Brian Dougherty, Samantha Elkins, James Emery, Charlotte Erfurth, Hannah Eshelman, Rachael Ferguson, Lida Ford, Aaron Glennon, Sophia Gossard, Lindsey Graham, Andréa Griffin, Ronan Hall, Hannah Harris, Alison Heizer, Aaron Honn, Mira Howard, Katrina Inselman, Vincent Kelley, Hano Kim, Jenny Koh, Amos Lachman, Renee Lee , Seanar LeTaw, Sarah Libby, Gabriel Lovinger, Emily Mangan, Harry Miller, Zachary Miller, Jacob Moch, Hayden Moore, Morgan Montgomery, Sierra Morisson, Natalie Mosman, Kayla Newland, Rachelle O’Bryant, Cameron O’Hair, Ashlie Ortiz, Jaime Ping, Jordan Prasniewski, Sahalie Pittman, Millie Prenevost, Jamie Rowlett, Cassie Ruud, Larissa Satterwhite , Madisyn Schultz, Phoebe Sheldon Young, Claire Shepard, Stephanie Silver, Jemila Spain, Sierra Sussman, Maisie Titterington, Audrey Thomas, Dylan Troyer, Kiara Varga, Rayna Viles, Arielle Ward, Elle Wayt, Brynne Webb, Katherine Westermann, Kavin Wijesekara, Flora Winters, Lizzie Wolfram, Natalie Wong
The artists who responded to the poems and stories: Susan Applegate, Kathleen Caprario, Paula Goodbar, Annie Fulkerson, Annie Heron, Peter Herley, Judith Hankin, Robert Hill Long, Lily Nelson, Jerry Ross, Sandy Tillcock and Judy Volem
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