I wish I could drop into a book and see
everything like everyday life.
I would love to catch a ride on the North Star
and flow through the Milky Way
and lead Orion through the night
as it sleeps in the morning and dances
through the dark, as planets swirl around the sun.
by Javier, 3rd grade
[photo from the NASA website]

WAT?!: Word Around Town
Nuestra Palabra - Latino Writers Having Their Say
The Word Around Town tour was originally put together by three noteworthy Houston area poets: Zelene Pineda, Joe B. and Stephen Gros, as a way to celebrate and exhibit Houston’s varied and talented spoken word artists and the venues that support them. This ambitious endeavor [...]

Writers in the Schools (WITS) is looking for writers and educators who can teach the joy of creative writing to young people. Employment is part-time, typically a half-day of teaching one day a week from September - May. A yearlong commitment is required.
In addition to teaching, the job duties include preparation, responding to student work, [...]

Color me like the oceans in the afternoon.
Color me like the sun in the morning.
Color me like the lime in the bowl.
Color me like the tomato in my backyard.
Color me like the light in the sky.
Color me like the sky at night.
Color me like the roses in the ground.

by Dani, 1st Grade

Mr. Silly was born on April Fools Day. He was not one of the brightest kids, but was the funniest. When he was born he jumped out at the doctor and peed on the doctor’s leg and laughed the whole time.
In his childhood he did stuff like put a whoopee cushion on his mom’s chair [...]

It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and I was in the field. the earth was cracked from the sun. My teammates passed me the ball. I got nervous and started sweating. I could feel a drop of sweat dripping down my head. I started dashing toward the goalie, but their defense started to attack me. [...]

WITS is mentioned and Executive Director Robin Reagler is quoted in an editorial in today’s Houston Chronicle.  The column is about the spoken word project, Young Houston Writers (YHW). The Houston teenagers who made the YHW team are in Washington DC for the Brave New Voices festival, an international poetry slam. A story from the [...]

After Richard Skelton’s “Stones”
On a cool and foggy night there is not a sound around the downtown area.  It is very damp.  There are a few trees planted outside that begin to chat about how they wish they were somewhere else, a place where the wind can blow through their leaves and many animals would [...]

On a summer day,
I went to play.
When the butterflies went by,
I watched them fly.
On the trees,
there were birds and bees.
Peace is what I feel
up on the hill.
by Hanh, 2nd grade

I am beginning my third and next-to-the-last day in Bitola, and it has been wonderful. The kids have done great writing, and we are working after they leave to create the anthology of their works combined with pictures of the class and the teachers. There is a very efficient Peace Corps Volunteer named Patrice who [...]