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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A Little Bit Blue: Chapters 1-3<br />
Tava Guillory<br />
Chapter One: The Snow<br />
I sat by the fire sipping tea as I watched the snow cover the land<br />
that had been growing all summer. It was that magical kind of<br />
snow that only ever comes down in fairy tales. That snow covers all<br />
the land in just one day and never melts until spring.<br />
I loved this time of year. My garden was inactive, so I could rest<br />
and practice spells and incantations for the next year. Also, I got to<br />
go to town to get supplies. I loved getting to talk to someone other<br />
than the animals and myself.<br />
The snow began to fall quicker now. I decided to go pack for the<br />
journey to town. I stepped into the small bedroom in which I<br />
spent every night and I pulled out my satchel. Clothes tumbled<br />
out on top of it as I dug it out from under the heap it had been<br />
lost in. It was a satchel that was a present from my mom before I<br />
moved to this deserted cottage. I only used once a year and it often<br />
got buried over time. In the pile there was a simple dress that<br />
fell to my knees and I stuffed that in the main pocket. I opened<br />
another drawer and grabbed some more clothes before cleaning up<br />
the mess I had made. Finally, I stepped out into the kitchen and<br />
took food essentials. I was ready.<br />
I heated more tea as my last cup had cooled and then I sat down<br />
on the old, patched couch that separated the living room from the<br />
kitchen. It was only the crackling fire that kept me from getting<br />
cold. I was almost regretful to leave when there was a knock at the<br />
door.<br />
Southeast Alaska <strong>Student</strong> <strong>Anthology</strong><br />
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