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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The Truths of Being a Barista<br />
Addie Fowler<br />
1. Your color used to be black. Now it is black with the occasional<br />
bleach spot and rubbed in coffee grinds.<br />
2. “In a for-here mug please” the customer says. A single tear rolls<br />
down your cheek as you glance towards the teetering pile of already<br />
dirtied dishes. “Of course” you squeak back as you pour their<br />
extra hot half-caf latte into your last clean mug.<br />
3. You sigh internally as you force a smile and “thank you” at the<br />
unmistakable ping of about 3 pennies hitting the bottom of your<br />
tip jar. You can now tell what type of change is being dropped into<br />
the barren vessel. Sometimes your lucky to hear the louder thunk<br />
of a quarter or two, but you don’t let your hopes get up.<br />
4. “Why are we open this late’’ you moan to your coworker. You<br />
take a shot of espresso. “Who needs coffee at 5:30?” You take<br />
another shot.<br />
5. You lie awake in bed at night. Your so tired but so awake. “Why<br />
can’t I sleep?” you whisper to yourself. “Gods, why can’t I sleep?”<br />
You whisper to the empty space next to your bed. “Let me sleep”<br />
you whisper to the darkness surrounding you.<br />
6. You place a mocha on the end of the bar “Jonathan” you say<br />
loudly. But then you look around. No one is inside but you. Was<br />
Jonathan even ever here in the first place? You sink to the floor<br />
defeated. This is the third time this week. Is Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins<br />
even real? (ok for real he shows up and orders his drink and<br />
then disappears for 15 minutes before retrieving it and refuses my<br />
offers to remake it).<br />
Addie Fowler is a sophomore at <strong>Sitka</strong> High School.<br />
26 <strong>Where</strong> <strong>Am</strong> I?
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