Dear Potential WriteOn Applicants:
In 2016, my students at the time, Phin Lambert, Catherine Bloomer, AE Osworth and I started WriteOnNYC.com. I had been invited as a visiting writer to the George Jackson Academy (the only independent middle-school for underserved boys in NYC) and I instantly fell in love with the kids. They were so bright and eager (and adorable) and their hands were waving wildly in the air the whole time: “Miss Helen, who should we read?” Luckily, having seen their previous syllabus, I came prepared–with the help of the above three students–with a reading list of stories, essays and poems written by people who looked and sounded like them, and people who didn’t. I then asked Catherine and Austin to volunteer at the school–and they did! Even though they were both working and writing their theses, they found time to teach literature and creative writing to these deserving young men. A drink with a friend, Vicky Gottlieb, unexpectedly turned her family into founding donors, and a New School fellowship was born.
Now, nine years later, we have trained 87 Fellows from the MFA Program to teach writing and literature to underserved middle school and high school students in three area schools, collaborated with Parsons Scholars, and worked online in the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. All of our Fellows, except the inaugural three, have been paid for their work. They in turn have taught hundreds of students of their own. We have taken these kids on class trips, introduced them to writers, given them books, etc. Our fellows have also flourished. And while many of them have gone on to teach, others have found work in myriad industries. WriteOn and our continuing support after the program is over, have been a significant plus to their resumes and job searches.
The past few years have been such a struggle for all, and yet nothing, not Covid, nor lockdowns, Zoom fatigue, despair, confusion, the violence in the Middle East, civil unrest or loss, and now a shaking of basic bedrock democratic principles has kept our Fellows and their students from making meaningful connections over literature and creative writing. When I think of the final readings they’ve produced together, here at The New School, in their own school cafeterias, online from their homes, or masked and hybrid in classrooms, and the high spirits and beautiful work they’ve produced, it gives me courage and hope.
Please think seriously about applying to be a WriteOn fellow for next year. Here is a copy of our Zoom info session and our application. The fact sheet is attached. Catherine Bloomer, Grace Shields, Phineas Lambert and I are all available to talk with you. Just send us an email.
You do not need to have had previous experience to apply. You just need to believe in the healing powers of literature, the joy of writing creatively, and to love and respect children.
Warm best,
Helen