Haywire Issue 4 Fall 2014

HAYWIRE Issue 4 Fall 2014
ited one of Adam Ross’ readings
and shared that he would have
denounced anyone who told him
he’d ever be at a reading by Adam
Ross as a liar. Ross’ journey of becoming
a writer was long and arduous,
fueled by perseverance. As
a writer, he declared that knowing
the ending of a piece is the most
important in the writing process.
Adam Ross advised us to write
down something true about our
surroundings every day, as a habit,
and he shocked us all by uncovering
the fact that writer’s block is a
myth! For example, he explained,
one of his graduate school professors,
suffering from multiple sclerosis,
wrote an entire novel with
merely one finger. Ross found that
Leaving The DDR Behind
A Visit to Hohenschönhausen
by Carina Kühne, 10f
the guiding question in one’s path
in life is “Where does your talent
fit into the world”
Overall, the experience of hearing
a published novelist talk to
us about writing and life was extremely
enlightening and I hope
JFKS hosts many more great authors
we can learn valuable wisdom
from.
Walking through the foreboding metal gates of the
Stasi prison of Hohenschönhausen on a crisp Friday
morning, our entire group of tenth graders fell silent.
We were soon acquainted with our tour guide, Harry
Santos, an expressive man now in his sixties who had
been a former GDR prisoner in this institution. As he
introduced himself, we obtained a first impression of
Photos by Olivia Swarthout, 10f
the grounds: the tall, grey walls topped with stretches
of barbed wire dauntingly enclosed the bare, cemented
courtyard that we stood in, and an old surveillance
camera pointed at the entrance. The only hint of color
was provided by the red bricks of the main building
and the narrow strip of grass in front of it.
To start off our tour, we were taken into a room to
22