A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
Imperfect A dark purple bruise on perfect skin Hidden, painful, an accident But I know, I am the eye opened, watchful, while the other is closed I see it all The perfect world that everyone sees now Merely a curtain To hide the ruined chaos behind Hide the bruise Don’t let them know That you […]
Thank you so much to everyone that attended SAL’s Back-to-School Luncheon last week to support our Writers in the Schools program! As WITS parent Tammy Watson told us, “Each child, each voice that needs to be heard, is depending on someone to make that difference.” Last Tuesday, we came together to make a lasting difference […]
It’s a magical moment when young people begin experimenting with writing in order to make sense of their place in the world. We see this every fall, when Writers in the Schools hosts its WITS Anthology Launch—in this powerful afternoon of youth voices, we see what happens when space is created for youth to think, engage, […]
Applications to join the 2018/19 WITS Writers-in-Residence corps is now open! To download the 2018/19 Writer Application Guidelines, click here. Writers in the Schools (WITS), a program of Seattle Arts & Lectures, is looking for creative writers—poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and cartoonists/graphic novelists—who are passionate about teaching the power and pleasure of writing […]
From Hiroshi Sakauye’s brave letter to America; to Chloe Dobson’s gorgeous comic of a young artist who feels “a fire awaken” when she draws; to Gage Barry’s hilarious short story narrated by a sardonic carrot named Jack Crunchy, this season’s WITS Year-End Readings featured the extraordinary talent of future Pulitzer Prize-winning voices. The annual celebration, […]
Butterflies or Eleven Responses to the Phrase “You’re So Quiet” 1 oh really? i hadn’t noticed 2 talking to dreamers with big smiles and small consciences is like floating on indestructible clouds but clouds are not indestructible 3 that’s funny because you’re so loud 4 your words light the room on fire talk in disparate […]
Yes, My Skin Don’t like this poem because I’m telling you to But let me tell you a story about this girl Named Hinari Just ’cause I want to Came from Ethiopia when she was seven Was considered black As a girl she chose her way But as a Christian it was hard to say […]
Bosque El bosque es maravilloso, calmado, bonito. Es un lugar con miles de árboles gigantes. Adentro de un árbol puede ser que haya Una familia de animales lindos y chiquitos. El bosque tiene ríos rápidos Donde puedes beber agua rica y fresca. Cuando estoy en el bosque me siento valiente. En el bosque hay tierra […]
By Samar Abulhassan, WITS Writer-in-Residence Shout Out Poem (after Sekou Sundiata) Melanie, 3rd Grade, Washington, Hutch School Here’s to the greatest words this morning to one of the best places going down, Here’s to the blue noodles in one of my poems To the kids who have come and gone To the kids who are […]
By Jamaica Baldwin, WITS Writer-in-Residence I’m learning so many different ways to be quiet. There’s how I stand in the lawn, that’s one way. There’s also how I stand in the field across from the street, that’s another way because I’m farther from people and therefore more likely to be alone. There’s how I don’t […]