Class

Poetry & Community: Where Do I Fit In?

Welcome back to Summer Youth at Open Book! Join us for a week of writing and all day creativity!

-Session 1: Can I Interview You?: Using Poetic Inquiry to Tell Community Stories with Elise Toedt
Have you ever wanted to write a story about an intriguing topic or event in your community? In this class, I will teach the basics of writing effective interview questions and of interviewing on a topic of social relevance. On day one, we will each identify a topic we want to interview others in our community about and we will write interview questions. We’ll host mock interviews with one another to practice our skills. We’ll practice transcribing - or writing out - our interviews. Finally, we’ll look at how other writers have transformed interviews into poems and narratives and that are interesting to an audience. As a qualitative researcher, I will use examples from my work and will ground the course in a realistic idea for how researchers conduct interviews on a research topic. Opportunities will be suggested for continuing and/or publishing projects. Please come to class with an idea for the person you want to interview, and what topic or event you want to talk with them about. Ideally, you will have asked them ahead of time if they are willing to talk with you during our week of class.

-Lunch & Enrichment: We'll break for lunch with more activities that will inspire us to express ourselves while having fun! We may explore Gold Medal Park to seek creativity outside the classroom! Please bring a packed lunch.

-Session 2: We Are Pyramids: Spoken Word and Identity with SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE
In this class for writers with and designed by SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE, we will explore the roots of Spoken Word as an art form, tell stories about who we are, and learn the fundamentals of performance. We will explore our cultural identities and use that as a platform to create original work. Students will engage with the culture of Spoken Word, build community with their peers, and talk about things that matter to them.

Aspiring writers, grab your notebooks and pens, and let’s write at the Loft!