PRESS RELEASE: Giving Detained Youth A Voice Through Memoir Writing
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—April 15, 2009—For seven weeks, Memoir (and), Woodside Learning Center, and City Youth Now collaborated to sponsor weekly writing workshops focusing on memoir writing for the young men detained on Unit 4 at the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Center. The writing program led by Associate Editor, Kathy Guis, and MFA student, Rose Tully, focused on helping the detained boys find a voice through a new style of writing, providing these young men with a method of sharing their experiences, and introducing them to creative writing. During the workshops, the young men became aware of the capacity for creative writing to provide not only an outlet for expressing themselves, but also an opportunity for personal enrichment. At the end of the seven week period, the staff at Memoir (and) compiled a book of the written work produced during the workshops for each of the participating youth.
Each of the six workshops focused on a different theme ranging from place to memory to areas of expertise. The youth were encouraged to use unfamiliar writing styles to express familiar themes and places in their own lives. At first, the young men approached the writing workshop with hesitation as it called for them to step out of the structure they are accustom to at the Juvenile Justice Center and explore the chaotic realm of stream of conscious writing. The writing workshops also asked the young men to explore the memories of their past and reflect on insignificant moments that led them to make bigger picture decisions.
"Writing creatively without formal structure was new for the boys," said Rose Tully. "Once they saw what they were capable of writing, they each had a chance to find their unique voice."
After the last workshop, each of the participants were given a bound copy of all the work that was produced during the workshop. The final product is filled with the memoirs of each of the boy on Unit 4. It explores feelings of joy and of sadness, moments of freedom and of betrayal, and pieces of a story that each boy carries with him.
Memoir (and):
Memoir (and) is a nonprofit literary journal devoted to all types of memoir: prose, poetry, essay, graphics, and more. Our goals as a nonprofit are to expand the boundaries of the genre by publishing atypical memoirs, and to widen access to memoir writing for marginalized groups such as youths, the elderly, immigrants and the disabled. http://memoirjournal.squarespace.com
.About City Youth Now:
City Youth Now supports youth in the San Francisco foster care and juvenile justice systems by providing funds for services and programs that promote stability and personal growth. www.cityyouthnow.org
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Press Contact:
Brittany Jarabek
Executive Director
City Youth Now
brittany@cityyouthnow.org
