Where Am I? Sitka Story Lab Student Anthology
The Island Institute's Sitka Story Lab program released this new book of Southeast Alaskan student writing in May 2016. Called Where Am I?: Stories of Strange Landscapes, Wrong Turns, and New Worlds, the anthology features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and zany creative experiments that convey the disorientation and the discovery that young people experience, from being in the wilderness to simply growing up. The young writers come from Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Wrangell, and Skagway, and are as young as nine years old and as old as eighteen. "The writing ranges from fantastic and playful to emotionally moving and dark," said Story Lab Coordinator Sarah Swong. "I'm impressed at how creative and varied these writings are, and at how open students were to feedback and improving their work." The project offered students the chance to write a piece for publication and to hone their writing with an editor.
The Island Institute's Sitka Story Lab program released this new book of Southeast Alaskan student writing in May 2016.
Called Where Am I?: Stories of Strange Landscapes, Wrong Turns, and New Worlds, the anthology features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and zany creative experiments that convey the disorientation and the discovery that young people experience, from being in the wilderness to simply growing up. The young writers come from Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Wrangell, and Skagway, and are as young as nine years old and as old as eighteen.
"The writing ranges from fantastic and playful to emotionally moving and dark," said Story Lab Coordinator Sarah Swong. "I'm impressed at how creative and varied these writings are, and at how open students were to feedback and improving their work."
The project offered students the chance to write a piece for publication and to hone their writing with an editor.
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KATIE HOLMGREN<br />
Yas, I was tremblin’ in mah boots. Actually, I lost mah boots in the<br />
storm... Yas, I believe I did. Days were some good boots too. Ah<br />
well. At least I’m ‘ere now— much better dan dat ocean there. Twat<br />
did yah say your name twas? Gentleman somefin’?”<br />
“Yes, the Gentleman. I call myself that for confidentiality reasons.”<br />
“Huh,” Clancy looked at him curiously, “You don’t look like no<br />
gentleman, but I can tells you ares one. It’s in tah way you carry<br />
yerself.”<br />
“Thank you.”<br />
“What yah doin’ in tah middle of nowhere? On this here island?<br />
It’s mighty purdy, but I bet it gets purdy dull, purdy fast. I’d say<br />
my piss is better dan dis ‘ere island, yes I’d say so. It’s a nice place<br />
you got though, this shack,” he said motioning to assembled pile<br />
of driftwood, “And with tah fancy utensils and glass and tea even.<br />
Say, yah must live ‘ere for pleasure then.”<br />
“Oh no, I’m here by chance, just as you. It’s not so bad after a while,<br />
I rather enjoy it now,” the Gentleman said earnestly.<br />
“Ah, but yah didn’t answer mah question. I don’t got a good mind<br />
for indifference, Mr. Gentleman. Nah sir, I doesn’t. And why does<br />
you call yerself the Gentleman? I get tah ‘confidentiality’ hoo-hah,<br />
but whys dat specific name? Whys not somefin’ different? Like<br />
Oliver, or Thomas, or somefin’ regular-like.”<br />
“Well, I dare say I couldn’t find a fitting one. I could hardly see<br />
myself as being called anything other than my given name, so I<br />
chose something general that I considered myself to be already. I’ve<br />
been called the Gentleman for quite a long time now, long before I<br />
arrived here at the Isle.”<br />
Southeast Alaska <strong>Student</strong> <strong>Anthology</strong><br />
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