I’ve spent the last few weeks with my Editor hat firmly on, as I’ve been close reading all the poems that my Young Writers have been submitting for our first Anthology.
Eeek. How EXCITING!
It’s been a delight experiencing their work, which is fresh, multi-faceted and original. I’m very much looking forward to presenting our pamphlet to new readers, and to being able to share some of their work on this blog.
Please do keep checking back for updates!
I relished the task of naming our anthology, which will be called:
and I deliberately chose this title as it not only reflects some of the subjects the writers have written about (an exploration of some of the voices that have been influential in their lives) but also because this is THEIR creative work. They are the authors and they can take genuine pride in their ownership.
Our project, in its entire 20 week glory, has been all about using voices and crafting language to express our worlds, our concerns, our delights.
The writers have had freedom to pull away from others’ expectations, from targeted outcomes and marking criteria. They have had freedom to play with language, imagination and self-expression. And the results are impressive.
They have gloried in this freedom and it’s been a privilege to nurture and guide them through the process.
We are ending this term in a flurry of last feedback, last edits and last submissions, and I have the task of selecting which of their poems will go into our anthology. Some tough choices ahead!
We’re also all getting excited about inviting close friends and family to our anthology launch, which is coming up on June 13th…
Elaine Baker - Poet 