A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
The Numbers There’s this tree I see every day I count every little baby bird one… two… three… four… perfect little birds I keep walking thinking about all the homework I have counting out every assignment
By Katy E. Ellis, WITS Writer-in-Residence My first year as a WITS instructor, I handwrote each day’s plan in a small red notebook that I toted to the kindergarten classes at Broadview-Thomson K-8. This year, I referred back to those lessons and added new lessons to the notebook, which I carried like a security blanket to […]
“Ever since Daemond started coming to my third period class, I have found a healthy way to express my emotions and thoughts. I look forward to being taught by him every Friday and learning why writing poetry really matters.” These words come from a ninth-grade WITS student at Franklin High; they’re only a minute sampling of […]
By Vicky Edmonds, WITS Writer-in-Residence Hearing the poetry of children has been one of the most meaningful experiences in my life. I am awestruck at getting to hear that kind of sincerity nearly every day. It’s why I remain a teaching artist after 26 years, even though it’s the most challenging work I’ve ever done. […]
Burning When you tease me, I feel like I’m burning, and you lock the oven with words like, “I hate you.” As I burn, I try to put out the flames with tears, but you just laugh. Sometimes I put the flames out on others. I think the flames will go out, but they just […]
By Anastacia Tolbert, WITS Writer-in-Residence *I’m wearing faded blue jeans spotted with white paint, a long, un-tucked NASA t-shirt, a burgundy hooded sweater, a pageboy hat, stripped socks and black flats. The teacher has already told them a “professional writer” from WITS is coming. They haven’t Googled me but have formed ideas on what a […]
By Michael Overa, WITS Writer-in-Residence The first day of a new class, I’ve begun a rather nerve-wracking experiment (as if simply standing in front of thirty seventh or eighth grade students I’ve never met before wasn’t enough.) The experiment goes something like this: shortly after my partner teacher’s introduction – and before explaining any more […]
By Peter Mountford, WITS Writer-in-Residence When I was in middle school I had this magical power, which was very useful. The way it worked was that if I wanted a teacher to not call on me I could camouflage myself, or become invisible. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but I […]
Months Later Let me tell you about the day my tongue broke down. It melted into fine dust, iridescent particles of lies and rabbit-quick explanations I tried to get underneath where you used to be, but it was a tangled mess of boot buckles and bolts I sucked the lies from your marrow; they went […]
By Rachel Kessler, WITS Writer-in-Residence “The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is – it’s to imagine what is possible.” –bell hooks How do we present ourselves to the world? This is an important question for sixth graders entering middle school. I like to open residencies by engaging students […]