Letras Latinas Young Writers Initiative

The Letras Latinas Young Writers Initiative offers support and encouragement to Latino and Latina youth who are drawn to the written word and strive to be more intentional about their craft as aspiring writers.

The Initiative is a collaboration between the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS) at the University of Notre Dame, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago and The Young Writers Workshop at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).

The Young Writers Workshop is a four-day program designed to give high school students the chance to explore and develop their talents in poetry and prose writing. Students hone their skills in critique sessions led by SIUC faculty, and at panels, readings and craft discussions led by SIUC creative writing faculty and graduate students.

Letras Latinas, the literary program of the ILS, has created an endowment that, among other things, will help Cristo Rey students attend the workshop. Cristo Rey students who have already participated had this to say:

“I heard a variety of different types of poetry and I must say the people at the camp were outstanding writers. We all had a different style. My classes were fun because we worked on a bunch of drills to help improve our writing skills and to help spark new poems. The teachers and helpers were so great”

—Tracy Vega

“The Young Writers Workshop at SUI was nothing short of an amazing experience.”

—Carlos Angeles

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The following is an interview with Allison Joseph (AJ), the founder of The Young Writers Workshop. The interview was conducted by Francisco Aragón (FA), the director of Letras Latinas:

FA:Can you talk a bit about the background of the Young Writers Workshop.
In what context did the idea for the workshop arise and what were some of the challenges of getting it off the ground? Also, what was/is your mission in having this workshop for high school-aged students?

AJ: I founded the Young Writers Workshop here at Southern Illinois University Carbondale because I'd witnessed similar programs for young writers around the country (my undergraduate alma mater, Kenyon College, has one, as does Denison University and the University of the South) and I wanted to bring that same sort of energetic learning to my campus. But those programs are very expensive ($900-$2000) and  are quite long, and I wanted to bring something similiar to this area, but at a lesser cost for a shorter duration.

The first year I tried to do it, I failed. It was going to be a weeklong workshop at $500. I soon learned that that was too high a cost for the families in Southern Illinois. So I reconceived it as a Wed-Saturday workshop, and brought the price down to $200 per enrollee. We had about 13 kids that first time, and have increased the numbers every year since. The price per student has gone up slightly ($250), but it still includes everything (room and board, tuition, all supplies, even the t-shirt).

FA:Could you talk about about the preparation that is involved in the months leading up to the workshop? For example, could you share with readers what the selection process is? Do applicants have to submit a writing sample? Are you looking for a particular type of young writer?

AJ: The Division of Continuing Education is our co-sponsor for the Workshop, and the folks over there are great. They help me with every aspect of planning—the meals, the dormitory and room scheduling, the brochure and t-shirt design, the mailing of the brochures, the budgeting and the payment of the graduate students. I couldn't do this workshop without their knowledge and abundant help. We start planning the workshop with them in January of each semester. My Assistant Director ( an MFA student who will help shape the workshop and is on assistantship) and I meet regularly with the folks at Continuing Education to cover all the bases and make sure everything is set for when the students are here in late June.

In terms of the applicants, it's first come, first served. We've gotten a variety of talent that way, but I've found that kids that are truly motivated to come are good writers. We aren't looking for one particular type of writer—over the years, we've had kids who are interested in science fiction, kids who are writing long fantasy novels, kids who write rhyming poetry, kids who write humor. We do require a writing sample, for two reasons--one, we use them to determine our scholarships, and two, we want to know that the kids who are coming really are invested in writing, that writing means a lot to them. We don't require a letter from a teacher, however, since that might discourage kids who don't have teachers they know well enough for that sort of letter.

FA:Talk us through what actually takes place at the workshop. As you know there are different models: those where writers send in mauscripts beforehand that will be critiqued, and those where there is some on site writing. Describe for us what a participant might expect to experience?

AJ: It varies, but we get the kids to do a lot of writing while they are at the workshop. In the poetry workshop for example, I give the kids lots of exercises—and we all sit around and write our responses on the spot and share them right then and there—first drafts, warts and all. Later on in the day, the kids go to the computer lab and type them up. Still later on that day we might hear the same piece at an open mike reading. There's a giddy energy of creation that overtakes everyone during the workshop, and pretty much everyone's working on some new writing, including me and the MFA students who help me teach the workshop.

The daily schedule of the workshop is as follows (schedule for a typical day):

Breakfast
Workshop Session One
—into separate groups for poetry and fiction
Lunch
Workshop Session Two
—same groups as in the morning
Mini-Classes (usually there are 3 to choose from, offered in both fiction and poetry)
Graduate Student Reading
Dinner
Computer Time
Faculty or Guest Reading (back to dorm afterwards)
Open Mic at Dorm after Faculty Reading

FA:The workshop has now been in existence, what, eight or so years? How has the workshop evolved/changed, if at all, since you first began it.

AJ: This coming summer, 2007, will be the ninth annual workshop. It has changed in that we're getting more students coming from further away. Last year, in addition to our students from Illinois—from both north and south in the state—we had students from Virginia, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Over the years, we've had kids from Arkansas and Missouri as well.

The main change in the workshop's four-day schedule came from the students themselves. Each year the students fill out conference evaluations. One year, early in the camp's history, one student wrote, "Find a way for the kids in the poetry workshop to study fiction, and vice versa." So we introduced "mini-classes": short, one-hour class sessions where the kids learn about a very focused concept in poetry or fiction. The MFA students teach these, and they are always a great hit. We have offered mini-classes in topics such as flash fiction, surrealism, haiku, description in fiction, etc. The kids pick which mini-classes they want to attend each afternoon, and do writing in those sessions too. The mini-classes are great because they not only give the students an opportunity to write out of their customary genre, but they also give the MFA students the chance to teach a session on some topic they are passionate about.

Another change came about last year. We launched the Younkin-Rivera Prizes for Young Writers, which is a nationwide competition. The prize is an award of $250 and a scholarship to the Young Writers Workshop (a $ 500 value). The  prize is offered in both poetry and fiction. Named after two young writers who were students in the MFA Program at SIUC (Brad Younkin and Roxana Rivera), we honor their memories with this new national award for writers aged 15-18.

The change the students want most now is a lengthening of the workshop. Because that takes more money, we haven't made the workshop longer. We don't want to price any student out.

FA:Who runs the actual workshops? My understanding is that MFA students
do a good deal of the work? What is your role during the workshop?

AJ: I teach the poetry workshop, along with my graduate students. Another SIUC faculty member teaches the fiction workshop, along with more graduate students. Other faculty and still more graduate students run the mini-classes (I usually go to as many of the mini-classes as I can, so that I can observe the graduate students at work). The graduate students also do readings for the students, so I do the introductions for those readings (generally four graduate students). Our faculty and guest writers read in the evenings (I do those intros too). I also help coordinate the computer lab, the meal times, and I help make sure everyone gets back to the dorm at night, as well as helping out at the open mikes. My Assistant Director (a graduate student who has worked with me all spring semester in planning the workshop) also does much of this work too.

FA: And finally, as you know, one of the high schools that has been sending
students to the workshop is Cristo Rey in Chicago. Could you talk a bit
about why it's important for students from a school like Cristo Rey to attend
the Young Writers Workshop?  

AJ: I love the Cristo Rey students because they are driven to get the most out of the experience at Young Writers that they can.  And I love that they meet kids from the southern part of the state that they wouldn't meet any other way—friendships forming across lines that often divide older people—class, urban vs. rural, language, etc. When the kids are here, they are all just writers learning their craft. The Cristo Rey students bring their experiences with them, and aren't shy about sharing their life stories, which makes the students from other backgrounds more comfortable about sharing theirs.