February Column

This first appeared in The Evening Sun on February 27, 2011.

Spending my time teaching mostly college students, some days I get the feeling all creativity has been rationalized out of people by the time they become adults, or even high school students.

However, when I walked into Guthrie Memorial Library last month to visit the teen writing group, I found the complete opposite: a group of teenagers bubbling over with passion for the written word. These teens have created their own space to share their most personal ideas and writing with other enthusiastic young writers.

The idea for the group was Nichole Krichten's, a junior at New Oxford High School. She writes, "I decided to start the writing group because I have a passion for writing, and was looking for a club to join. Unfortunately I found out that neither my school nor the library had a writing club." So, she started one herself.

Krichten's idea has created a writing home for a dedicated group of young writers who meet twice a month in the library. "The group provides a friendly atmosphere where teens can come and share their writing, and get constructive criticism to help improve their work. I have benefited from the group immensely. The group helps bring me out of my shell, and allows me to share my feelings and writing without fear of being judged."

Krichten shares her work, like the following poem, "Nature's Sorrow," with the group:

Nature's Sorrow

Rain falls gently
On a warm summer night
Clouds block the stars from view
As the sky cries
Bathing the world in sorrow
The wind howls in anguish
As the storm builds
Lightning rends the sky
As anger joins the fray,
Thunder booms,
The pounding of fists
Balled against the pain
Rain lashes the earth
Tears flowing without end
No one to ease the pain,
For who can comfort Nature?
She has only herself.

Another member of the writing group, Christian Torres, is a junior at Hanover High School and has been writing for three years. He reflects, "The writing group at Guthrie Library has helped me acknowledge themes that are always apparent in my poems and/or short stories. They've critiqued my work thoroughly, helping me realize some deeper aspects of literature as an art."

Torres wrote the following poem, "Angels in the Night" to combine "the opposing beliefs of Creationism." He successfully found a way for them both to exist in a short poem.
Angels in the Night

Once in pitched darkness,
our roar was genesis.
Batting our feathered wings.
As heaven's fireworks,
we shine, even through twilight.

Of his audience, Torres writes, "I want to inspire inner strength and valor to those who read my poems, so they too can defeat their 'darkness' and emerge victorious." The teen writing group helps to validate Torres' ideas, ideas that would "be impossible if not on paper."

Daniel Miller, a third writing group member, is a sophomore at New Oxford High School. He has been writing since last year and applies similar themes to his poetry as Torres. Of his audience, Miller writes, "I hope that they take this poem and see that even if it seems hopeless and unbearable at the time, that they should not give up hope for it is truly all we have." The following poem by Miller is untitled:

Life, once a feathers flight,
now a stone's weight in the pond of life.
Down, down, down the stone sinks,
forever dreaming of heaven's golden light.
Waiting, hoping for a chance at paradise,
to shed this nearly unbearable weight
and feel the blissful grace of the feathers flight.

When asked about his inspiration, Miller responds, "I write because it is the only way I can paint a picture. I use my words like the paint, and my mind the brush."

The writing group has also had an impact on Miller and his writing. "[It] has helped me better understand not only my writing but also more about myself. I have found new activities to improve my writing through the group, and I have also met amazing people with a common interest."

Nanci Mart, an 8th grade English teacher at New Oxford Middle School, helps facilitate the writing group and emphasizes its importance: "The teen years are tough. As kids begin to think for themselves and develop into the person they want to be, they often face resistance and criticism from the people they most trust. In the writer's group, participants are baring their souls to each other, and we all respect that. It's a safe place for kids to express themselves, and it's a great way for them to be validated as writers."