WITS in Action: Desmond Spann at Benson HS
With the rise of slam poetry and storytelling in the literary world, Writers in the Schools is excited to hire talented local writers who create work in these genres. This year Desmond Spann, who describes himself as “a spoken word poet, a positive emcee and hip hop artist,” was the writer-in-residence in two of Steve [...]
Javier Hernandez visits Madison’s Hispanic Club
WITS writer-in-resident Javier Hernandez spoke with Madison High School’s Hispanic Club during one of their weekly lunch meetings. Hernandez is originally from Eugene, and he worked as a journalist for the New York Times after attending Harvard. About 25 students attended the meeting that week, and they had questions for Hernandez about his experiences applying [...]
Writer’s Orientation 2012–13
At last week’s WITS Orientation for the 2012–13 school year, 6 new and 8 returning writers got together with Program Director Mary Rechner, Program Coordinator Mel Wells and other Literary Arts staff to discuss strategies and stories about the WITS program. Food and drink from the nearby Elephant’s Delicatessen was served. The friendly atmosphere and [...]
WITS Writers Meeting
Last Wednesday, WITS writers convened at Literary Arts to eat Ethiopian food cart fare and talk shop. The dinner conversation covered such topics as how to continue your writing practice when you’re teaching, writing groups in Portland, and how to share your writing process with students. Teaching came up too, of course–from the best lesson [...]
WITS Writer featured on Portlandia Blog
Local graphic artist and WITS writer Nicole Georges will be contributing illustrations to Portlandia’s “Most Portland Thing Ever” contest. The show’s creators picked five submissions from many and asked Nicole to provide illustrations to accompany the hilarious Portland stories. Read the whole story here.
Oregon History Comics–Featuring WITS Writers!
WITS writers and cartoonists John Isaacson and Nicole Georges have contributed art to an upcoming series of comic books recounting Oregon’s illustrious history. Oregon History Comics Vol. 1-10 recounts historical topics near and dear to Oregon’s heart, such as: the Vanport Flood, the streets of Chinatown, and the damning of Celilo Falls. The release will be [...]
And Yet Another WITS Intern!
Hello to all of our W.O.O.T.S. readers. My name is Acacia Blackwell, and I, along with Kaitlyn, work as an intern with Writers in the Schools. I am currently a senior at Lewis and Clark College, majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. My own writing, inspired by my lovably neurotic family, [...]
Portland State Intern
Hi! I’m Kaitlyn the PSU WITS intern. I’m a second year student in the Fiction MFA program. My thesis is my main focus of study right now which means I am (supposed to be) writing a lot. I’ve gotten to take some excellent workshops and seminars about the craft of writing. My fiction has appeared [...]
New and Returning Writers Gather for the WITS Writer Orientation
At the WITS Orientation in early September, new WITS writer Sarah Jaffe read from her response to a writing prompt about what she loved and hated about high school: “I remember that I loved picking out my own classes once I got to high school. And how you didn’t have to just be popular or [...]
WITS Writer Mark Pomeroy in the Oregonian
Here’s the opening part of a great article that Mark Pomeroy wrote about his time at Marshall High School, which is closing soon: A week from graduation, she walks into her English class, sits down and looks to the overhead screen for the day’s prompt: “Neighborhood.” For a minute she quiets herself, pen in hand. [...]
