Jason Koo was a writer for WITS for several years beginning in 2000; he was a Senior Writer his last two years. He was recently awarded a 2009 Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and he also won the De Novo Prize for his collection, Man on Extremely Small Island which was published a few months ago. He currently lives in New York, where he teaches at NYU and Lehman College and serves as poetry editor of Low Rent.
When interviewed about his years with WITS, this is what Jason had to say:
It’s difficult to pick out one experience, but I think I most remember and appreciate the kindness, enthusiasm, and generosity of the people who worked in the WITS office, especially Long and Robin. They made it a great workplace and were so supportive. And, of course, the kids. In every class there were little geniuses. Teaching poetry the kids always stimulated my own imagination; they’d have an energy and imagination to their poems that I wanted in my own poems. Professionally, working for WITS taught me how to work collaboratively with other teachers, and how to maintain a high energy level in the classroom.
Jason will be reading in the Poison Pen Series at the Poison Girl Bar along with former WITS writer Taije Silverman and fiction writer Ed Porter on Thursday, March 25th. This event will be free, and the public is invited to attend.
