ArticlesHARTWORKS LITERARY MAGAZINE By KHADIJAH ALI-COLEMAN East
of the River “It’s like an apple,” says 12 year-old Angelo Martin as he sparks the class discussion of how love and an apple can compare. Angelo loves
apples and has written about his love of apples in his poem “In
Praise of the Apple Tree”, published in the Winter 2005 edition
of hArtworks, a literary magazine published by the D.C. Creative
Writing Workshop (DCCWW). Angelo, like the majority of his developmental
reading class, have become published poets “They get excited and motivated when they see themselves in print,” says Jackson. “It’s an esteem builder for them.” Jackson, who
has shared her reading students with DCCWW for the past five years,
believes that the partnership between Hart Middle School and DCCWW
is great and a highlight in many of the children’s lives.
“[DCCWW] brings a new and fresh perspective of reading and
writing to the children and is very motivating. Overall, it’s The D.C. Creative Writing Workshop’s writers-inresidence, like McCaan, work with teachers in grades 4-12 to provide interactive writing instruction to students. They encourage the students to keep a personal creative writing portfolio to record his or her progress throughout the year. In addition to the in-school programs, DCCWW has an after-school program based at Hart that is open to all students, ages 5-18, in the surrounding neighborhood. Participants have the option of attending up to three days a week of activities. Eighth-grader Sherrelle Barnes attends after school. “I’m in the Creative Writing Workshop with Ms. Nancy—it’s fun.” The after-school program, led by DCCWW’s artistic director Nancy Schwalb, is a venue for creative genius. According to
DCCWW’s website, “Since the Writing Club’s inception,
Hart Middle School has developed a city-wide reputation for artistic
excellence, consistently fielding winners in the Parkmont Poetry
Contest, the Larry Neal Awards, the District Lines Poetry The highlight
for students in both the in-school and after-school program are
the editions of hArtworks that is published three times a year.
Distributing over three hundred copies to classmates, teachers,
parents, and other members of the community, hArtworks “I was published in a book when I went to Patterson Elementary; I’ve been writing for a while,” says Angelo. He shares that he likes to write about his sister, God and, of course, apples. “My mom told me, ‘See what you can do when you’re not being bad,’ when I showed her the magazine with my poem in it.” DCCWW encourages youth to use writing as a creative tool in all aspects of their lives. Ceshelle Evans, 11, admits that she doesn’t write that often when she is not in her DCCWW class, but she enjoys the poems that she has written while writing with her peers. She is especially proud of her appearance in hArtworks. “When
the magazine came out, I told everyone!,” she gushed. “This class is fun. I write now when I have nothing else to do,” says Angelo. HOT OFF THE PRESS May 2005 marked
the debut of two new publications from DCCWW, Simon Says, a literary
magazine featuring the works of students at Simon Elementary, and
Voice of the Knight, a literary magazine
|
