Press Release - Tell the World

For Immediate Release
San Francisco, October 2008
Media Contact: Peter Handel, 510-528-0946, plhandel@pacbell.net

WritersCorps Celebrates Fifteen Years of Teaching Creative Writing to Urban Youth with the Release of “Tell the World”

Events in San Francisco Include an Exhibition this Fall at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and benefit reading with
Sherman Alexie and WritersCorps Youth at City Arts & Lectures

“There is an energy and honesty that characterizes these gathered pieces…and there is strength in an evident idealistic confrontation with a quixotic world beyond the individual.” – Starred review, KLIATT, September 2008

WritersCorps will release “Tell the World,” (HarperCollins; October 13, 2008) a new collection of writing by teen poets as a part of the 15th anniversary of the award-winning creative writing program that has reached 50,000 urban youth. In celebration of the anniversary, WritersCorps will present a multi-media exhibition at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery this fall and also host a VIP reception with celebrated author Sherman Alexie, prior to his appearance with City Arts and Lecture, on December 1, 2008.

Sponsored locally by the San Francisco Arts Commission, WritersCorps ― with additional chapters in the Bronx and Washington, DC ― places professional writers into communities often underserved by the arts. WritersCorps’ in-depth programs provide rich opportunities for thousands of young people whose voices are so often shut out and disenfranchised from mainstream society’s traditional media and culture.

“WritersCorps has become a national model of what the arts can accomplish with our teens,” said Luis R. Cancel, Director of Cultural Affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. “We are proud of the talented, young writers who are the heart of the program.”

In this new collection of frank and honest poems, 75 teens (32 from San Francisco) “tell the world” about their lives: who they are, where they’re from, what they love, what they think, and what they are feeling. Their insights and keen observations offer a rare glimpse into the inner lives of teens, and give voice to their deepest hopes and dreams—for all those willing to listen.

“Being published in this anthology is really exciting because it’s getting my writing out to a national audience. It’s definitely an honor. I also think being published in “Tell the World” can inspire other youth to write poetry as well. WritersCorps has helped me develop as a writer,” said Annie Yu, WritersCorps student featured in “Tell the World.”

Events and readings marking the publication of “Tell the World” include:

Litquake
Tell the World Reading
October 11, 6:00 pm
Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, Columbia Park Clubhouse
450 Guerrero St, San Francisco
Free

This Place Called Poetry
Opening Reception
November 13, 5:30-7:30 pm
San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
401 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco
Free

Tell the World Reading
November 14, 7:30 pm
The Booksmith
1644 Haight St, San Francisco
Free

City Arts and Lectures Benefit for WritersCorps with Sherman Alexie
VIP Reception and Reading
December 1
6:00 pm VIP Reception / 8:00 pm Reading
Herbst Theatre
401 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco
$100 for VIP Reception with Sherman Alexie / $20 for Reading only

What authors say about WritersCorps

“WritersCorps’ goal is to give kids — many of whose lives are touched by poverty and violence — opportunities to develop their vision and voice through writing. As they write about their observations and feelings, these young people inevitably improve their learning skills and self-sufficiency.” —Isabel Allende

“One doesn’t need to be a visionary to recognize that there is something special going on here, that between the precocious imaginings of childhood and the channeled discipline of a teacher’s experience comes the simple realization that when young, the words one reads, speaks, and writes, matter.”—Victor Martinez

“Most school experiences force children to shut down and keep quiet. The teachers of WritersCorps encourage just the opposite: In these poems, the youth sing out unabashedly. They refuse to play it safe…They boldly try to make sense of their world by confronting mistakes…They rebel against war, against racism, against intolerance and indifference.” — Jimmy Santiago Baca

About WritersCorps

WritersCorps, now in its 15th year as a project of the San Francisco Arts Commission, places professional writers in community settings to teach creative writing to youth. Since its inception in 1994, the program has helped more than 15,000 young people from neighborhoods throughout San Francisco improve their literacy and inspire them to learn. The program is part of a national alliance with sites in the Bronx and Washington, D.C., whose shared vision is to transform and strengthen individuals and communities using the written word.

About the San Francisco Arts Commission

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. We believe that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being. Established by charter in 1932, SFAC programs integrate the arts into all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artists Licensing, and the Summer in the City Concert Series. The agency’s core values are committed to the principle that all residents have equal access to arts experiences in all disciplines, that programs are provided comprehensively and evenly throughout the City, and that they are innovative and of the highest quality.