Young Adult Writing Group To Convene

By Nancy K. Crevier

“There may be nothing more ‘basic’ in education than gaining a sense of one’s own voice,” according to poet Naomi Shihab Nye. It is one of Liz Arneth’s and Tom McMorran’s favorite quotes, and is the message that the two adult volunteers are trying to convey as they conduct Young Adult writing workshops at the C.H. Booth Library.

The library first introduced a five-week creative writing group in the summer of 2004, said Young Adult librarian Margaret Brown, as she, Ms Arneth, Mr McMorran, and three young writers took time recently to discuss the program. The writing group was originally sponsored by a grant from Praxair Corporation, she said, and was quite popular that summer. “But the kids wanted more when the session ended,” she said. “So we decided to add some genre-based writing groups throughout the school year. They are headed by professional volunteers from the community and are funded by the Friends of the Library, although the summer camps are still funded by Praxair.”

Since that first summer, the groups have experimented with writing fiction, mythology, poetry, and memoirs. They have had a rich source of volunteers lead them through the art of writing. Julie Stern, Wally Wood, Joan Verniero, Mary Maki, Dr Philip Koch, Alyce Block, Kay Aldridge, Andrea Zimmermann, and Carol Terry are among the many other volunteers, besides Ms Arneth and Mr McMorran, who have contributed their skills during the course of the workshops.

Tori Mead, a sophomore at Newtown High School, has been involved in the writers groups on and off since the first summer. “One of the volunteers we had gave us a lot of ideas on organizing our writing, in any genre, and that was great. The poetry workshops are a lot of fun.” Tori is too old for the upcoming October poetry session, geared toward sixth to eighth grade students, but she will return as a student mentor.

For David Tortora, it was a writing assignment in school that propelled him into the library group last summer. “I was not really a writer before,” said the St Rose seventh grader, “but I thought it would be fun. We did a lot of activities together and got a lot of good topic ideas. It’s just fun, a good outlet.”

Having her opinion voiced is important to Emily Ashbolt, who has been a member of the writing group for the past three sessions. Writing, for this seventh grade student, is another way to tell her stories. “I always wrote frequently,” she explained, “but [the group] really got me started.”

Ms Arneth, who taught English for 20 years at Ridgefield High School, and Mr McMorran, a former Newtown High School instructor and current assistant principal at Ridgefield High School, have collaborated on previous writing sessions at the library. Both are Newtown residents and having the opportunity to draw out the creative side of young writers is a thrill for both of them.

They will lead the next session at the library, which runs for five Mondays, 6 pm to 8 pm, October 23 to November 20. “Creative Writing: Poetry” will be led by Ms Arneth, a member herself of a local poets’ group. Mr McMorran will assist.

Both facilitators stress that the sessions are about sharing as much as they are about putting pen to paper. “Sharing is everything for this group,” said Ms Arneth.

“We ask them to be genuine, creative, and self-revealing in a way public schools can’t get into,” Mr McMorran added. Going back to their favorite Nye quote, Ms Arneth went on, “[The young people] need to be safe. They’re finding their own voices [in writing]. It takes a lot of trust.”

The group has expectations, despite being an environment of exploration and nonjudgment. “We expect [the group] to be active listeners and authentic for their peers. In a workshop like this, the student gets feedback, not assessment,” said Mr McMorran, making it a nonthreatening environment in which to open up.

“Sometimes the stuff people wrote about [in other sessions] wasn’t amazing,” piped in Emily, “but the way they wrote made it amazing.”

Mr McMorran and Ms Arneth want the young people who sign up to make a commitment to be at all five sessions, and if the sign-up is student led, not parent driven, they believe that will easily happen. “We want kids to come who want to come because they really want to be here,” Ms Arneth said.

Participants in the October–November writing group can expect to have time to write, noodle ideas with the adult volunteers, share their writings, and listen to poetry by published authors. “We use poems from other writers to stimulate our own writing,” explained Mr McMorran. “We try to explore the connection between being a good reader and a good listener to being a good writer,” he said, “so they can understand the craft of writing.”

Writing exercises to open up creativity are also offered by Ms Arneth at poetry sessions. “There is a freedom to this middle school age group,” she said.

Mr McMorran and Ms Arneth view the writing group as a tremendously rewarding experience. “It’s a privilege to have kids open up their minds to you and share. The amazing creativity of middle school is wonderful,” Mr McMorran said.

Participants do not need to worry about being pressured to produce a perfect piece when involved in the Young Adult writing group, he stressed. “This is an oasis for the other side of the brain. This is not school.”

To register for the “Creative Writing: Poetry” session, call 426-4533, or sign up at the main floor circulation desk. The class is limited to ten students per session. There is no cost.