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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PLAYING WITH FIRE<br />
Just then I heard a cry. I whipped around and there stood two<br />
policemen over the little, cloaked woman. I watched in dismay as<br />
herher small leathery wrists were slipped into a pair of handcuffs.<br />
Next thing I knew, I was running towards them.<br />
“What’s going on?” I exclaimed.<br />
The police looked up slightly frazzled by my interruption. “This<br />
woman is being arrested for possession and dealership of intergalactic<br />
material,” one of them said, “She’s a star stealer.” He looked<br />
down at her in hate and I was keenly aware of the now “illegal”<br />
star in my very own pocket.<br />
“That’s… that’s illegal?” I asked. The old woman and I exchanged<br />
a glance.<br />
“Illegal?” The policeman scoffed, “Do you know the power of stars?<br />
Do you know the damage stars do on our country? On our citizens?!”<br />
He shoved the woman and she grunted. “We’ve been after<br />
this one for years…”<br />
I stared in dismay and then began to slowly walk backwards, the<br />
star getting heavier. When I was a good fifteen feet away, I turned<br />
and ran towards the gate. The flight attendant was just closing the<br />
door. “Stop!” I reached a hand out and made it to the desk. “I’m on<br />
this flight!”<br />
The flight attendant paused and returned to the computer. I then<br />
sighed in relief and reached in my pocket for my boarding pass,<br />
“Thank you so much. You have no idea how important this flight<br />
is for–”<br />
I held back a yelp of pain when my hand touched the star instead<br />
of my ticket. It singed me! I thought in complete shock. It hadn’t<br />
burned earlier.<br />
22 <strong>Where</strong> <strong>Am</strong> I?
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