W.o.o.t.s.

It was certainly a 21st-century reading at Broadway books on Wednesday night, with students reading their comics projected onto a screen and playing radio pieces they had pre-recorded for broadcast. The pieces were produced in two residencies at Benson High School this past semester: graphic novelist Nicole Georges taught in Dave Mylet’s classroom, and journalist [...]

Our second year of matching volunteer mentors with high school students at Franklin High School was a great success! Student interest was even higher this year, with 37 students receiving one-on-one help with their college and scholarship application essays. We’re excited to be expanding the program to Madison High School this year, with a mentoring [...]

Our report for the 2010-11 WITS program has just been released and is available to read online. Click here to read and learn more about what we’ve been up to this past year!

We’ve just made all of our digital chapbooks–past and present–available online through Issuu.com, an online reader. These are tons more fun to read than ordinary PDFs (they actually look and feel like books!), so please check them out! To view our library, you can visit our profile at http://www.issuu.com/literary-arts.

Our annual WITS Summit was held in Hood River, Oregon, this year and the attendance and enthusiasm were at their highest yet. The Columbia Gorge Arts in Education hosted the event, and participants came from organizations around the state, including Fishtrap, The Nature of Words, professor Marjorie Sandor and four students from Oregon State University’s [...]

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. [...]

In our final WITS reading for Spring 2011, Franklin and Portland Night High School students read to a (packed!) audience at BiPartisan Cafe. It was one of our largest readings yet, and it was wonderful to see so many friends and parents attending. Each student, teacher, and writer did a fantastic job, and we’re already [...]

With Marshall campus closing, this was the last Renaissance Arts and Linus Pauling reading. Instead of melancholia, however, there was a strong sense of community and support amidst the students, families, teachers, administrators, and WITS writers. Several of the works celebrated the author’s determination and desire to find a place in the world. Lents Commons [...]

Another round of WITS Readings is approaching! Here’s the schedule: Lincoln High School Date: Thursday, May 12 Location: Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park) Time: 6:30 pm Featured WITS writers: John Isaacson and Laura Moulton Roosevelt High School Date: Monday, May 16 Location: Girasole Pizza (8438 N. Lombard) Time: 7:00 pm Featured WITS writers: Carmen [...]

At the WITS Anthology Release Party & Fundraiser, we had hundreds of small cupcakes with circular flags stuck into their frosting. Each flag was printed on one side with “Thanks to your donation…” and the other side had a short, specific example of what a donation to the WITS program can facilitate. For those who [...]