The 2010 WITS Writer Orientation featured special guests Michele Kotler and Keith Kaminski from the Community Word Project (CWP) in New York. Our friends at the CWP have given a great deal of thought to preparing writers to teach in classrooms. We at WITS Houston invited them down to see what it was all about. [...]
I am in Bitola on the Macedonian border with Greece. One of the wonderful things that happened my first year teaching in Macedonia was the students asking me if I was on facebook, although I had to tell them I was not. Then I went home and joined facebook, partly on the advice of my [...]
More from the Macedonian Express Yesterday, I had a great time in the WITS Creative Writing Camp in Stip, not that far from the Bulgarian border and near the ancient Roman city that we discussed in the last post. Every morning I walk about 30 minutes to the American Corners away from the city center, [...]
Shakespeare said, “The Play’s the Thing,” and it was! Here in Skopje we just finished producing seven plays – 4 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. They included such titles as “The Nutty Granny,” “Revenge is a Dish Best Served up Cold,” The Magic Umbrella,” and “The Hero and the Dragon,” just to [...]
Beginnings are exciting, thrilling really, particularly when you know that they are filled with fun, energy, learning, reading, writing, and happy children. This is my third year of WITS in Macedonia and the beginning of the third year on the Macedonian Express, and that express has more stops than it used to. When we started, [...]
For the third year in a row, Writers in the Schools is collaborating with the U.S. Department of State to provide creative writing summer programs to young people in Macedonia. WITS Writer Merrilee Cunningham will be spending five weeks in the Balkans this summer. Her missives will begin tomorrow. Stay tuned! [photo by Jaime Perez [...]
Former WITS student Benjamin Moser will read from his widely acclaimed new biography of Clarice Lispector at Brazos Bookstore Monday, September 14, at 7 pm. Get a copy of Why This World, get it signed by the author, and celebrate his birthday–all at the same time. You can get more information about this event on [...]
WITS Fall Orientation 2009 took place this past weekend with over 80 writers participating in the training event. Special thanks go to our two guest presenters, Laura Long and Yvonne Murphy, as well as to our hosts, the Houston Arts Alliance and The School at St. George Place (HISD). Schools that have not yet signed [...]
Today WITS kicks off the 2009-2010 school year with a weekend of writer orientation and training. In this photo, guest presenters Yvonne Murphy and Laura Long talk with WITS Board President Robin Davidson and our guest from Georgia College WITS, Valerie Wayson.
Mere technology interrupted my transmittals from Macedonia. It seems that I was in line for a new computer at my university, and I knew that IT was going to take this time to get rid of my XP-powered bulky computer and arm me with my beloved Microsoft 2009 with all its many charms, templates, and [...]
Teachers & Writers Collaborative (T&W) awards the Bechtel Prize annually in recognition of an exemplary essay addressing important issues in the areas of creative writing education, literary studies, and/or the profession of writing. The deadline to receive submissions for the 2009 Bechtel Prize is 5:00 PM (Eastern), Tuesday, June 30, 2009. In 2009, T&W is seeking Bechtel Prize [...]
Writers, staff, and board members from WITS Houston participated in the AWP Conference in Chicago last week. WITS leads a network of similar programs called the Writers in the Schools Alliance, which hosts a string of events during AWP each year. All the WITS events were well-attended. It is exciting and gratifying to see that [...]
Merna Ann Hecht will be visiting WITS-Houston and starring in the annual writer orientation August 21-24, 2008. A storyteller, poet, and educator, Merna’s personal mission is to support young people in holding to a vision of a more humane and peaceful world. She has built her life work around the vital role of story and [...]
This week the US president is in Slovenia. Next week: WITS Writer Merrilee Cunningham! Merrilee will spend three weeks of her summer vacation bringing creative writing to students in Macedonia and Slovenia. This international WITS expedition was organized by Amy Storrow, a Department of State member who is stationed in Skopje, Macedonia. Amy was the [...]
