The Loft's Sidewalk Poets at Work!
It’s an interesting dichotomy: as soon as the air freezes and the snow begins to make its way down to our abandoned gardens and empty playgrounds, I begin to think about summer. Not in the “oh no, I can’t take 6 months of single degree temperatures, waist high snow banks, and unrelenting darkness,” way, but in the “oh my, I need to create another summer term full of fun, innovative ways to get kids and teens jazzed about writing and literature!” way. How do I do that? With a lot of help from the local writing community, Loft staff, and from the very kids and teens who walk through our doors every summer.
You may have read an earlier Writer’s Block post about the joys of finding literature through what has traditionally been a bit of an unlikely source – popular culture. Many might scoff at the idea of using popular literature (think The Hunger Games, hip-hop and spoken word poetry, and the Wimpy Kid series) over enduring classics (Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Oliver Twist) to teach the craft of creative writing and foster a love of reading. But to borrow a phrase from an enduring classic, the proof is in the pudding. Young writers come through our doors every summer to begin or deepen their writing practice. They leave with more, having grown in their writing, but also having grown themselves by sharing the experience with like-minded peers and encouraging teaching artists.
In creating each summer term at the Loft, I have looked to young people for inspiration and ideas. I walk the halls of Open Book surreptitiously looking over the shoulders of our students to see what they happen to be reading; I wander the aisles of The Red Balloon Bookstore, Magers & Quinn, and Barnes & Noble, to see what young writers and readers across the city, state, and country, are devouring; and yes, I go to the movies and visit comic book stores, gaming websites, and any place else I can think of, to see what unique story ideas, characters, and worlds are being envisioned, consumed, and worshiped by a young audience eager to be inspired into writing their own unique stories. From Harry Potter to The Walking Dead, Halo to Hugo, and everything in between, the possibilities for using pop culture as a way to excite and inspire young writers are endless!
We have what remains of the first true snowfall of the season (unheard of! It’s almost March already) outside on our city streets, but I am already excited for what the summer season will bring to the Loft: days of sidewalk poetry along Washington Avenue, river walks meant to inspire a short story, class discussions on how to write a novel using a relatable third person narrator. Anything can happen once you’ve been able to engage the creativity of almost one thousand young writers and readers!
