Our free summer workshops for young people in Fort Greene Park are featured on the NY Times website.  About 40 young people aged 7-17 are writing with us every Saturday in the park, culminating in the 2010 Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival on Saturday, August 21 at 3 PM.

More poems by our amazing young writers will be featured in the weeks to come.

7/28: Cold by Lyric Joseph, Age 12.

7/27:  One Night on Planet Nile by Sam Holdengraber, Age 8.

7/26:  My Spider, by Tayon Regist, Age 7.

7/23: Barbie vs. Ladybug, by Anwen Burns, Age 8.

Saturday, August 21st at 3 p.m.!

We are proud to announce the return of our popular Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival. Six weeks of outdoor creative writing workshops for young people (ages 7 to 17) will culminate in our 6th annual free outdoor reading. This literary festival will feature NYWC’s young writers from the workshops reading alongside six poets who have appeared at the Calabash International Literary Festival and in the anthology So Much Things to Say: Kwame Dawes, Gregory Pardlo, Willie Perdomo, Carl Hancock Rux, Patricia Smith, and Cheryl Boyce Taylor. This exciting event brings several generations of writers together to build on the rich literary traditions of the neighborhoods surrounding the beautiful Fort Greene Park.

The event will take place at the monument in Fort Greene Park.   continue reading…

Featuring  young writers ages 7-11 from NYWC workshop at the Imani House after-school program.

Read an excerpt.

Orgins

by Sarah Dobrowolski, 13

I am from the streak of paint on a blank sheet.
I am from the gliding of a leaf in the wind.
I am from odd doodles on the margins of my paper.
I am from rays of the sun.
I am of the shadows of large trees.
I am from a crisp breeze.
I am from the scent of cinnamon tickling your nose.
I am from boredom.
I am of raindrops meeting the ground.
I am of water greeting the shore but sadly receding.
I am of blurred thoughts.
I am of dancing freely.
I am of wondering of the absurd.
I am from star-gazing late at night.
I am from adoring the moon.
I am from a hesitant pen.
I am from not knowing.
I am from all things random.
I am from a searching eye.
I am from an old yellowed photograph.
I am from a folded page.
I am of a foot unsure of stepping forward.
I am of nonsense.
I am of codes you can’t decipher.
I am of the ridiculous.
I am from countless mistakes.

By Abdel Baidhani
Age 10

Will I ever die
Will I ever touch the sky
Will I ever sleep on the clouds
Will I ever touch the earth with my pinkie
Will I ever be a football player
Will I ever be a basketball player
Will I ever be a rapper
Will I ever be a break dancer
Will I ever marry
Will I ever have kids
Will I ever be president
Will I ever see God
Will I ever pass school