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