Writing with Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum

Highlighting the teen writing program this month was a writing workshop with Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, author of Madeleine is Sleeping (a finalist for the National Book Award) and Ms. Hempel Chronicles. On January 22, volunteers Melissa, Michelle, and Kim took teens Noel, Giovanni, Jorge, and Alejehid to hear Sarah read at Skylight Books. The following week, we were joined by Grace, Abraham, Jessica (a familiar face from the after school program, back with us after many years away), and Chris (it's always a pleasant surprise when a graduate from the program drops by), as well as volunteer Kelly (who is also Sarah's good friend), for Sarah's workshop on prose-poetry.

Using Baudelaire and Margaret Atwood to capture the teens' attention, as well as a compelling excerpt from her own book, Sarah talked about writing a prose-poetry piece in which a situation that starts of fun suddenly, somehow, unexpectedly, turns dangerous or risky. The teens took to the assignment with enthusiasm, some writing non-fiction, some writing fiction, and all using their imaginations to address the world that they live in. You can read a few of the pieces below.

Brainstorming before getting started ...

JESSICA:

Every morning waking up to the same routine. Brushing teeth, using the facilities, showering, changing into the school’s uniform. Waiting ‘til a quarter to seven to confirm the morning ride. Leaving at exactly 7:25 to be there at 7:30. Waiting for two more people and the ride. When he arrives we get in. Three passengers and one unlicensed driver. Music blaring out of one beaten-up car demanding attention, respect, from its cargo from the world. Suddenly the music goes down as a cop car is spotted. Windows rolled up. Total silence. Waiting to see if the cop will follow or turn. Suddenly relief as the cop turns and five minutes later we arrive at our destination. Just another regular school morning.

GRACE:

“I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.”

Words she heard over and over again. To her it meant the whole world. She told everyone, from right to left, how special and different this guy was.

She would die 4 him. Or so she claimed. Giving up her virginity wouldn’t be such a big deal. Right? She’s in love and this is the love of her life. Well, that was what he said.

So everything is all right … or so he claimed.

5 months later. Left heartbroken and maybe perhaps pregnant. “Baby, I love you.” These simple words messed up her life. She wasn’t the same. No school. No friends. Just perhaps pregnant.

2 weeks … a couple of blocks away from her new school and newfound friends. Staning in front of a free pregnancy clinic.

2 hours later. The once brave and in love girl she was is now broken down … now living 4 two people.

Rained Out!

What do you when the photography field trip to Hollywood Boulevard is rained out? Go bowling, of course. Accompanied by volunteers Kelly, Michelle, and Kim, teens Juan, Giovanni, Jorge, Noel, Abraham, and Alejahid hit the local lanes. Breaking 100, Juan is the reigning champion. As for the rest of us, we managed to get a few strikes, a few spares, and have a good time.

Abraham and Alejahid work the lanes.

Kelly shows the guys how it's done!

Gio offers a few pointers on bowling style.

Words, Beautiful Words

The teen writing program kicked off 2009 on January 15 by playing around with random words. Rather than discuss some big issue, or focus on any kind of formal writing style, we simply tossed words out to one another and then wrote like crazy.

For our first writing exercise, Gio, Grace, Juan, Jorge, Noel, and Abraham (as well as volunteers Michelle and Kim) each wrote a noun, verb, adjective, and two random words on a sheet of paper. Each passed the paper to the person on the right, and then we all wrote for two minutes, using the words that had been passed to us. When the time was up, we passed the paper again and wrote for two more minutes. We did this until everyone had written for two minutes using each of the sets of words.

For our second writing exercise, each person wrote a list of five nouns on one side of a page, folded the page, and passed it to the right. Without looking at the nouns, the next person wrote a list of five emotions, and again passed the paper on. The third person drew random lines, connecting each noun with an emotion. The paper was passed again, and the fourth person had to write a five-line poem, with each line incorporating the connected noun and emotion.

It turns out that writing as fast as you can using random words can be a lot of fun. It can also produce a unique array of writing, as the samples below show:

POEMS BY ABRAHAM

He follows the birds
the birds land on a palm tree
He is unhappy because they erased the tree
It happened yesterday

She is at the beach
He is in the dump
Their minds are blank
He has pimples and
She has dimples

He sees the broken watch
She sneezes around anything
He is watching her put on lipstick

I am curious to see what is in Mexico
I ate candy and I’m hyper and I’m wearing a sombrero
I am disappointed at Pancho
I am enraged at the Panchos
I’m thirsty so I get a Coke and some tacos

POEMS BY GIOVANNI

I have a watch and
I sneezed on it, now
it is broken, and I don’t
have anything on my mind
except that one word, lipstick

I was at my house and
I was really tired so I fell
to sleep. I woke up and there
was paper on me so I made
a burrito.

I woke up in the middle
of nowhere a stalker following
me so I became ferocious
and attacked, I got to
thinking, I want
carne and cookies

I sat under a palm tree
and I erased all of yesterday’s
thoughts, so I became unhappy
and I started to follow
some girl back home.
She was nice. Grrr.

POEMS BY JORGE

I heard a stalker
He’s thinking
But ferocious
He ate a cookie
He ate carne

He saw a palm tree
He erased the palm tree
He was unhappy he erased the palm tree
He did that yesterday
He followed it today

He went to the beach
He got dumped on the beach
He had a blank shirt
He had dimples
He also had pimples

She watched the TV
She sneezed sitting down
Cause she had a broken heart
She’s thinking about anything
She had lipstick on

POEMS BY NOEL

At my house I went to sleep
Because I was tired
and then I ate a burrito

I went to McDonald’s to buy
a cookie and I ran away
from a big monster and I was sad

Yesterday I followed an unhappy
guy to a poem tree
and erased my homework
and wrote about a poem tree

I sneezed and I broke
my watch with a lipstick
and did not know anything

POEMS BY GRACE

An enormous monster
Heading to the castle
Lying got him here
Enormous and Ill
Eww, a monster

Yesterday he was unhappy
The palm tree looked pale to him
He feels alone
He wants to erase his past
Wants to follow a new path in life

Watching the stars in the sky
Broken hearted he might feel
I sneeze cause of all the dusty past we had
I have nothing else to offer you
The lipstick is all worn off

At my house, sleepy and frustrated
Tired of writing papers at school
I just want a break from
this fast life
Umm … I want a burrito

POEMS BY JUAN

When I eat McDonald’s I get
sad. I know I am going to
have to run, to lose the gut and
cookies in me, unleash my
inner monster. It will be.

I am thinking of carne, Grace’s
boyfriend is ferocious, I like a
big cookie. There is a stalker in
my movie. Should I run or
throw him a piece of carne?

I am unhappy with you,
my palm tree took a doo-doo
I erase what you do
When I follow up I fall into a crew
And yesterday I scream moo

Blank Blank Blank I
got dumped on the beach.
With a sunset so far away I will never
reach. The guy had no dimples,
just big huge things called pimples.

Picture Perfect

This Thursday night we had a terrific evening with photographer Andrew Southam and his colleague J.C. Andrew photographs some of the top talent in town, and this week he brought his professional gear to Alexandria House to photograph the teens. A million thank yous to Kelly for bringing Andrew and J.C., as well as providing costumes and make-up so the teens could make the photo shoot their own.

Michelle and Vivian were on hand for make-up (while Kim took behind-the-scenes shots), but it was the teens who came up with all the creative looks you'll see below. While some of the photos were taken by Andrew, many were taken by our own Carlos, who proved himself to be the next, well, Andrew Southam! It was so much fun to watch the teens interact with one another and the camera, and I don't think I've met anyone more gracious than Andrew. Yet another wonderful evening at Alexandria House.

Presenting, the Alexandria House teen program photo shoot ...

As the evening gets started, the teens choose outfits and prepare for their close-ups.

Michelle puts the skills she's learning at college to good use ...

... while Vivian puts the final touches on one of the evening's many models.

And of course, the teens help one another, as well.

As everyone gets ready, Andrew and Carlos have a heart-to-heart about photography.

And then, the shoot is on ...

Photos by Carlos:

Me oh my, Jessica and Grace kick off

the shoot with their drama skills.

Gorgeous Jorge flashes a little leg for the camera.

Giovanni the Joker gives us his best wicked smile.

While Walter reveals the Hulk within.

Masked and mysterious, Abraham takes a flying leap.

Hector plays the part of a gentle warrior.

Although he's the house jester, Noel reveals his serious side.

Photos by Andrew:

Carlos the photographer comes out from behind the lens.

Jessica and Grace prove that birds of a feather do flock together.

Jorge plays out his fantasy of becoming a pro basketball player.

Hula Hector shakes his grass skirt.

Honestly, Grace and Noel came up with this one all on their own!!

Hector reveals yet one more of his many personalities.

We're not surprised that Noel is smiling!!

As Alexandria House's own hair band ...

... Giovanni and Jessica take the term "air guitar" literally.

And for the grand finale, Andrew joins the teens for a serious picture commemorating a seriously fun night!!

Improv Night at Alexandria House

A new addition to our workshops is a monthly improv night with Clive Ashborn (Kim's brother-in-law), a working actor with "V for Vendetta" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" II and III to his name. The first workshop earlier this month was a huge success, and even the shyest of the teens was volunteering to get up "on stage" before the night was through.

After an introduction from Clive ...

... we all learn how to be aware of the space around us, as well as create a personality for ourselves ...

... including --- ahem! --- Rainbow. Yes, Rainbow came alive during this night of improv!!

And no, this isn't about not being able to stop laughing. The laughter is actually part of this improv moment.

One of many improv scenes acted out throughout the night.

The scenes between these two even included a little existentialism. As for all the teens, they'll never again be able to say "and worse than that" without laughing!

(Thanks to Kim's sis/Clive's wife, Julie, for acting as official photographer for the night.)

Teens & Politics

At the beginning of this school year, when asked what they wanted to write about, the teens' first response was the election. So early this month one of our writing workshops focused on politics. The teens talked about what they've heard in the news, and more important to them, the issues that affect them. Then, some of them wrote about it in letters to the future president ...

CHRISTY

Future President,
Please stop the war. My niece not being able to see her dad. My cousin at war calling and crying because he’s scared & he feels guilty for killing. My family worried when the news pops up saying soldiers have died. Everyone hopes my cousin will come home safe.
Christy

GRACE

Dear Mr. President,
Future ruler of the world. Future caretaker of all the problems in this world. This election is one I’ll remember, and don’t wanna 4get. I am not old enough to vote. But if I was. O-M-G! I’ll be confused … In school we learn how to succeed in life. How to make a good living. Not to be racist or judgmental. But what kind of example is this society we live in? Growing up in a middle class community, we see the ups and the downs … “Don’t judge a book by its cover” … We get so many things said to us. But Mr. President, none of this is true. Even if we do follow the rules, we’re gonna die … Not by natural causes … but by people killing our place. Global warming, think about it. You might be the President of this world. But you can’t control everything. In my future I don’t want a society based on your looks, color of skin. What happened to peace on earth? Equality. People, people!.. My friends are this world’s future leaders. But we don’t have role models to look up 2.

In easy words, don’t **** up. We don’t want to die before we reach our goal. Do something. Make a difference. Speak up ………….

Dear Mr. President, don’t tell separate families, immigration is bad. Dear Mr. President, there’s so many people without homes. There’s so much poverty. Take your time, I ain’t telling you to rush. Take baby steps and we will never want to change you … We won’t recycle you … Oh, and dear President, think green … animals are humans too. Save the penguins!

So please Mr. President, “Don’t **** Up!” We need to survive in this world.

Grace

JORGE

Dear Future President,
Stop the war that is in Iraq because people could die. Also, u do not tell some of their families. Also u do not know if their families miss them and also u do not know if they have children and their children miss them also, and when they die u do not know how they are going to feel. Also about immigration. A long time ago when the United States of America was America, it was the United States of Mexico. When we did a contract forever that people who were from Mexico come to the USA and could become citizens. And the contract was not ever done.
Sincerely,
Jorge

JUAN

Dear Mr. In-Charge,
Make yourself useful and get us out of debt and save us. We will soon be starving. The world is changing, and it’s changing with you. If we are doomed, so are you, and you should do something about it. I really don’t know how to get it in your head, but that’s all that should matter now. Us, not you.
Juan

NOEL

Dear Future President Dude,
I think all kids would want to be in a better school (better as safe). I would want you to stop the war before my cousin decides to go there and get killed in Iraq. I would also want you to help the homeless and build a big home for all the homeless. So please make my dream come TRUE!!!
Noel

PS Homework kills trees!!! STOP IT!

Camping at Jackson Flats

In June 2008 we had the chance to go camping at Jackson Flats. Along with charades, hiking, and a campfire and s'mores, we even had a rattlesnake sighting near our camp.

Who says a bunch of city kids can't put up a tent??? It was the volunteers (Jaimey, Kelly, Kat, Michelle, and Kim) who needed help lighting that darn barbecue ... though Jaimey wins points back for driving a FULL van both ways.

After dinner, many of the teens read pieces that they had written in the writing workshop. As always, the work was impressive.

Nothing like a good campfire to scare away the bears ... though there was a rumor one wandered through our camp in the early morning!

While hiking, we encountered a couple horseback riders who let the teens feed the horses apples.

Our outing ended with a hike that we all survived ... barely!! But the scenery was well worth the exhaustion ... this should definitely be an annual event.