Join us for a celebration of new student writing after school on Tuesday, May 21. More info here.

On Sunday, May 5, 2013, we were thrilled to be the Community Partner for the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Our students were treated to complimentary tickets to the Giants vs. Dodgers game and were so excited at the chance to cheer on the home team!

Our Apprentices student Evelyn Leon, 19, read her poem “My Place In the Field,” from home plate before the game. (You can read her poem at the end of this post.)

Evelyn was joined by her instructor, WritersCorps teaching artist Rose Tully.

Evelyn was also joined by her proud parents.

Many thanks to the San Francisco Giants for the opportunity!

See Evelyn read her poem in this video:

Check out the rest of the photos from the game here. Thanks to photographer J. Astra Brinkmann!

My Place In the Field

You see, I was scared.
It was the first Giants game
I ever attended.
I hated it at first.
Screaming, cursing, garbage.
Thirteen, and looking for Mom and Dad,
I sat my little sister on a bench.
The star of the show seemed to be a ball.
The man swinging his bat had all the attention.
Hopefully, he was going to make a home run.
(Whatever that is.)
Back to reality—
I grabbed my sister,
Ran up the stairs, down the hall
Next to the ice cream stand.
Trying to find my parents,
I witnessed an amazing sight.
Being a person of color,
Always made me think of the world
As a divided place.
As distracted as I was,
Always admiring white clouds above everyone,
Brown dirt underneath everything,
I saw
Latins,
Blacks,
Whites,
Everyone joined together in the stadium,
All united together in the field.

—Evelyn Leon, 19

2. Ask each participant to select five cards from his or her deck.

3. Ask students to write a chant using the words on their cards:
Praise my head because…
Praise my feet because…
Praise my nose because…
Praise my spirit because…
Praise my backbone because…

Adapted from the WritersCorps publication “Jump Write In!“

Every night, before I fall into my dreams
I will go to the mirror
The mirror tells me one bedtime story
It’s about me, and I drown in those sweet stories, every time

I see my eyes in the mirror
The mirror told me a story about those eyes
It said my pupils are the dark sky with stars in it
They are the cradle that carries the history of my family

I see my lips in the mirror
The mirror told me a story about those lips
It said, together they are the best gramophone in the world
They sing graceful songs to the children

I see my nose in the mirror
The mirror told me a story about that nose
It said it’s my protector
It feels the joy and fear in the air
Helps me avoid the monster
I love the mirror
The bedtime stories it tells me are the best sleeping pills
I fall into my dreams with its best wish

–Olivia Chen, 16

At a Loss

It’s kind of hard to tell but my words are
Filled with shame
My heart is full of pain and my mind is
Filled with game
Allergic to the sun but deep inside I love the rain
My lifestyle is so attractive
Because of my sins my years subtracted
Stressed out but not depressed not
Many know the difference
Cautious of my surroundings and
The rest is not my business
Sometimes I walk with a hunch but
Not because I’m lazy
It might be because I’m crazy that’s
What momma should have named me but
That’s what the ghetto made me
I just hope nobody blames me
Because I’m not the type to snitch and
I’m not the type to judge
I’m not the type to blame but to
God I hold a grudge because I
Feel so mad and violent
While I pray for peace and Love

–DA

These poems are from forthcoming WritersCorps books by students from Mission High School and Woodside Learning Center, respectively. Books will be available in May 2013.

Poem of the Month: April 2013

On Saturday, April 13, WritersCorps held the third annual Poetry Projection Project, a festival of short films inspired by youth poems, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The event was emceed by our very own teaching artist, Anhvu Buchanan, or “Mr. B,” as he’s known by his students.

The audience enjoyed a reading by four WritersCorps poets– Haley, Nicole, Senobia, and Melissa– followed by a screening of film entries. Then, special guest juror H.P. Mendoza, an award-winning San Francisco-based filmmaker (”Colma: The Musical,” and “I Am a Ghost”), praised the work of the filmmakers and poets before announcing the winners of the festival.

The winners were:

“City Boy,” by Jayraj Govender (above, left), featuring his own poem.

“The Girl with the Birds,” by Reel Grrls students, featuring their own poem.

See “City Boy” and “The Girl with the Birds” at the end of this post, and watch the rest of the selected festival films here!

Everyone had a great time at the celebratory reception, enjoying a variety of munchies!

Congratulations to all the filmmakers and poets! See more photos of the Poetry Projection Project event here. Thanks to photographer Cole Anetsberger!

Thank you to our partners, the YBCA Young Artists at Work (YAAW) program, and TILT-Ninth Street Independent Film Center.

Special thanks to our in-kind sponsors: Rainbow Grocery, Cabot Creamery, and Taylor’s Tonics/The Fizzary.

WritersCorps and Amate: Women Painting Stories is proud is present Iron Mom: Not Just a Baby Mama, a collection of poetry for performance about pregnancy and motherhood as a shared experience between writer Leticia Hernández and young women of color who attend Hilltop School.

Join us as Hernández and her collaborators, WritersCorps teaching artist Minna Dubin and well-known local artist Ana Teresa Fernández, present a multi-media experience that explores the realities of motherhood.

More info here.

An evening of art, poetry, and performance about the reality of motherhood.

Featuring:

Leticia Hernández, poet and lead artist
Minna Dubin, writer and WritersCorps teaching artist
Young mothers from Hilltop School
Music by Peta Robles, Gabriela Shimora
Artwork by Ana Teresa Fernández

Hilltop Students
Yesenia Alarcon
Patricia Duarte
Veronica Hernandez
Devi Hinojosa
Malisha Ebony Lane
Andrea Lopez
Johanna Moncada
Raquel O’Brien
Karla Rayo
Tania Reyes

Presented by WritersCorps and Amate: Women Painting Stories

When: Tuesday, May 14, 6 pm

Where: Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street (at York Street)

Cost: FREE (donations appreciated)

Transit: Muni Bus Lines: 9, 9L, 10, 27, 33, 48. Closest BART is 24th St Station.

Leticia Hernández, Minna Dubin, and Ana Teresa Fernández

This project was made possible by a grant from the Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund supported by generous grants from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation.

This May, the San Francisco Main Public Library is filled from top to bottom with poetry by WritersCorps students! Step to Poetry — a colorful literary art installation of poems about popular culture — will be on display from May 10 until June 10 on the main staircase of the Main Library. View the installation on your next visit to the library and collect free postcards featuring the poems.

Poetry Contest: Submit your own short poem to our poetry contest 1) Follow @writerscorps & @sfpubliclibrary on Instagram or Twitter (or both!) 2) Submit your short poem using the hashtag #steptopoetry. We encourage entries about libraries, books, San Francisco, or poetry itself. 3) Your entries should be original, not previously published, and should not have previously won any awards. 4) Winning entries ⎯ chosen once a week ⎯ will be featured on social media and win books and journals. 5) Contest ends June 7.

Join the San Francisco Public Library and WritersCorps for an exclusive after-hours launch event for Step to Poetry, a colorful literary art installation on the library’s main staircase written by WritersCorps youth. This event will feature a stair crawl from the first to fifth floors with youth performing their poems about popular culture along the way. Space for this event is limited and an RSVP is required. Contact hello [at] writerscorps [dot] org or 415-252-2546.

The installation will be up from May 10 to the end of the month.

What: Poetry Stair Crawl

When: Friday, May 17, 6 pm

Where: San Francisco Main Public Library
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

PLEASE USE THE GROVE STREET ENTRANCE.

Cost: Free, RSVP Required. Contact hello [at] writerscorps [dot] org or 415-252-2546. Please RSVP by noon on Friday, May 17.

Transit: BART and Muni Metro: Civic Center station; Muni Bus Lines: 5, 19, 21, 43, 49

Join us for a celebration of new student writing! Our teaching artists and students have been creating year-end publication projects. Celebrate with us at WordStorm, where we will unveil these new publications with fun hands-on workshops and a youth open mic. There will be button-making, a claymation booth from Children’s Creativity Museum, journal-making, writing activities, prizes, snacks and more!

What: WordStorm

Who: WritersCorps Students and Teaching Artists — and you!

When: Tuesday, May 21, 3:30-4:30 pm, hands-on workshops; 4:30-6 pm, open mic

Where: San Francisco Main Public Library, Latino Hispanic Room (lower level), 100 Larkin Street

Cost: Free!

Transit: BART and Muni Metro: Civic Center station; Muni Bus Lines: 5, 19, 21, 43, 49