By Lesley Machon My calendars have always been marked with stars for two important occasions: Independence Day and the first day of school. If I close my eyes I can still taste the red, white, and blue of rocket popsicles at 4th of July parades, and smell the lingering char of fireworks sizzling skyward from…
I Am Someone is an anthology of personal narrative essays and two collaborative poems by the seventh-grade students of West Bronx Academy for the Future. The title comes from a warm-up activity wherein all students participated in completing the prompts, “I am…,” “I was…,” “I’m afraid…,” and “I hope…” thus illustrating their hopes and fears…
Joy by Joshua (4th grade) In my black and white dream I met happiness. When is your birthday I asked. My birthday was the first time the ocean laughed, he said. 2016 Fire From the Moon PS156, Brooklyn, NY Joanna Fuhrman, writer‐in‐residence
This interview was originally published in 2001. —Ed. DANIEL KANE: One of the things that surprised me in your book Life & Death was that in a number of your poems you used a relatively long line. Your work has, for many years now, been characterized by a short line featuring strong enjambment—this selection from…
We Won’t Surrender by Marylyn (9th grade) Why do I keep on failing? Back to the old things Is there hope when Misery is coming It takes a million people with creative minds To fill this empty cup with joy We can do it We can do it Cause we are born for this Yes…
Born By Herself by Bryanna (8th grade) I was born with death close by waiting, but not today I say. I was born poor with tags on my back but knowledge in my head. I was born to be an hourglass. As I pour out, I watch man wither away into nothingness scattered across all…
This is one of three anthologies that gather the creative work that Bronx Park students and teachers created during this residency; it features the work of 6th-grade students and Bronx Park teachers. I visited the 6th-grade classes during their unit on Mythology. We talked about the way that myths are passed through time, the way…
This anthology is the 2nd of 3 anthologies that gather the creative work that Bronx Park students and teachers created during this residency; it features the work of 7th Grade and ELL (English Language Learner) students. I visited the 7th grade classes during their Murder Mystery unit. In our time together, we talked a lot…
As If We Were Gods is an anthology of writing by the seventh-grade students of IS 187-Hudson Cliffs School in Manhattan. It was completed during a ten-week residency from December of 2017 through March of 2018 for Teachers & Writers Collaborative. The goal of this residency was to deepen students’ understanding of the Spanish conquest of the Native…
By Olaya Barr In this lesson from T&W teaching artist Olaya Barr, students learn how an unconventional form can serve as a creative constraint for a story. Barr taught this lesson at PS 122, the Mamie Fay School, in Queens, alongside T&W education associate and New York University graduate student India Gonzalez. This exercise challenges…