How does YCA develop teen writers?
By Iman Carol Fears
Young Chicago Authors (YCA) is a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps young people to grow and develop through exposure to creative writing. Through YCA, Chicago-area teens get heavily involved in their communities and the literary arts. Founded in 1991, YCA’s many programs include intensive creative writing classes, readings by world-renowned poets and novelists, trips to theaters, literary events, and college campuses and opportunities for teens to work as aides at local elementary schools. Currently, YCA works with 2,500 teens yearly, providing them with writing workshops, performance programs and opportunities for publication—opportunities that are typically unavailable for writers in their teen years.
Holmes Education Post student intern Iman Carol Fears interviewed YCA Executive Director Rebecca Hunter to learn more about this fascinating program.
How do students change and develop after participating in your programs?
“We have a number of different programs that we offer,” says Hunter. “Sometimes we’ll do a residency in a school, that can be for a short period of time, or, if we get funding, we can do a much longer sustained residency. We’ll do longer moments of cultural engagement through developing an authentic voice through spoken word and the literary arts in general. We’ll see young people really engaging as participants and purveyors in their own culture, the culture of the city.”
What platforms are available for students to publicize the work that they create?
“Through our programs, students will start to understand that they have an active space in Chicago’s arts scene and we aim to provide a platform where their voices can be heard. How that voice is heard is really determined by them, and we have lots of different public platforms.” “We also have a poetry festival that’s focused on poetry and spoken word, and that’s the moment where over eighty schools and community groups come together to kind of create this cultural space where they share each other’s work in a very positive environment.”
How does YCA focus on include journalism training?
“We have an online publication called ‘Say What’, where there’s a core group of young people who will have to edit and platform their material online, creating this journalistic pedagogy. In addition, we have a more rigorous creative writing component to our program where young people can get very involved in the training and forms of writing and really start to understand it in a literary context. “A lot of the young people will start to emerge as artists. That is something that inevitably happens through all of our programs. It certainly isn’t the major focus of our programs but we do see young people emerging as young writers, in and out of the classroom.”
Why does YCA focus on teens for its program?
“All of our programs focus on teens age 12 to college aged students. Of course, there’s flexibility around that, but we focus on the teen age group in particular because there’s a real lack of cultural programs that focus on engaging this age group. “There’s so much that happens at this age in terms of personality development, language development and individual identity development that we specialize in working with teens because there’s a real need for it.”
About the Author: 17-year-old Iman Carol Fears is a member of Columbia University’s Class of 2016, where she intends to study creative writing and economics. Her work has been published in Underground Voices, Unlikely 2.0, and the Newport Review.
19 Comments
Leave a Comment
Partners
I really hope other people think your posting listed here as handy as I have. I manage a site personally and would be delighted for you or the guests on your site to check out. Please go ahead and look through my site just like I have with yours and leave a comment or two if you discover anything interesting. Many thanks.
Thanks.
Thank you so much for the post, it was interesting reading.
Thank you for a concise article that manages to be informative and positive at once. Bravo!!! I just had to visit your website. Fantastic! I once paid for a book from the nearby store that covers the same thing in this article. But I found yours much easier to understand, especially for the elderly person like me. I’ll be sharing that with my friends and family. Today I’ve learned some things of your stuff.
That is very attention-grabbing, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your rss feed and sit up for in the hunt for more of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your site in my social communities!
It’s a happy day to be able to read an sicteon that is so clearly research and written. I steal very much enjoyed this text content. Your layout is excellent. I will come back again.
Many thanks for an incredible post, can see your others topics. i appreciate your notions on this, I experienced a bit thump by this post. Merit again! You make a great moment. Has excellent data here. I feel if more people consideration for it like that, they’d have got a better time have the suspend ofing the matter.
Many thanks for an unbelievable put up, would study your particular others topics. thank you your notions with this, I experienced a lttle bit made an impact to by this post. Merit again! You wanna make a great time. Got some excellent data here. I do think that if more individuals thought about it like this, they’d have got a better time have the hold ofing the matter.
You actually make it seem so easy together with your presentation however I to find this topic to be really something that I think I would never understand. It sort of feels too complex and very vast for me. I am taking a look forward on your next put up, I will attempt to get the grasp of it!
I have been creating wealth and marketing and advertising online for about a year and have found it exceptionally satisfying whilst also being eye opening. I want to proceed on my journey and study additional procedures and strategies so I can develop into improved and much more productive.
i couldn’t agree with you more.
You require to join in a contest very first of the finest blogs on the web. I most definitely will suggest this website!
This website is my inhalation, real good style and design and Perfect written content.
I don’t normally comment but I gotta admit thankyou for the post on this great one : D.
I am often to writing a blog and i genuinely appreciate your articles. This content has really peaked my interest . I am going to book mark your web-site and keep checking out for fresh information.
Wonderful website, determined several something totally new! Subscribed RSS for later, aspire to see much more updates exactly like it.
i think it was a great website because it is really interesting.
i love reading through your blog, thank you for sharing with us.
this website is the best net page.