Taking Root

Girls Write Now

Description

This anthology is a catalog of seeds—the work of a network of young writers and mentors, each cultivating a shimmering, emergent voice. For the past two years, New York City high school students have weathered an adolescence shaped by an ongoing global pandemic. Throughout it all, they have found new ways to build community and take root. Roots allow for living beings to journey into our past and forward into the future, toward and away from home, and enable us to withstand the storms that invariably pass through. In short stories, personal essays, poetry, and more, the students reflect on endurance, change, and growth.

For twenty-five years, Girls Write Now has been amplifying transformative stories that break down the barriers of gender, race, age and poverty. In addition to being the first writing and mentoring organization of its kind, Girls Write Now continually ranks among the top programs nationwide for driving social-emotional growth for youth. The nationally award-winning nonprofit mentors the next generation of female and gender expansive writers and leaders who are shaping culture, impacting businesses and creating change.

Sujets

• Girls
• Young Adult Nonfiction
• Women

Informations

• Publié par: The Feminist Press at CUNY
• Date de parution: 09 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781952177248
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Praise for Taking Root The Girls Write Now 2022 Anthology
“As a young writer, understanding and believing how important your voice is, how extraordinary and singular it is, and how powerful it is in its capacity to connect to others—it is a gift and a wonder. And all this makes Girls Write Now more vital than ever. We all reap the rewards.” — MEGAN ABBOTT, author of The Turnout
“The remarkable young voices in this anthology show the brilliance, diversity, and power of the next generation of writers. Girls Write Now is building a brighter literary future for all of us.” — SUSIE DUMOND, author of Queerly Beloved
“Girls Write Now is overflowing with inspiration. This powerful organization allows young people to know with 100 percent certainty their ideas and minds not only matter but are our future, and a very bright future at that.” — KALI FAJARDO-ANSTINE, author of Sabrina & Corina
“Read this book as an antidote to dark forebodings; these young thinkers and writers are original, brilliant, and wise.” — RIVKA GALCHEN, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch
“I am so inspired by the talent, honesty, and creativity in these pages. Girls Write Now mentees show us what writing for the future looks like in this beautiful anthology.” — REYNA GRANDE, coeditor of Somewhere We Are Human
“I am blown away by the realizations and the sense of self these young writers possess. Their voices are not merely ‘unmuted’ in this latest anthology but explode off the page with conviction and talent. It’s simply joyous.” — BARBARA HEREL, contributing author to Tick Tock: Essays on Becoming a Parent After 40
“If you need inspiration, if you need hope that the future is in safe and thoughtful hands, dive into the stories of Girls Write Now. Here you will find young writers who share their unvarnished truth and in return offer a glimpse of their world, which we are privileged to see.” — YVONNE LATTY, author of We Were There and In Conflict
“Girls Write Now is about supporting and mentoring young women and gender-expansive youth who are passionate about writing. But it is also about beginning your career journey and beginning to understand the transformative power of the written word.” — JANE LAUDER, executive vice president, enterprise marketing, and chief data officer, Estée Lauder Companies, and Girls Write Now honoree
“As Joan Didion said, ‘We tell ourselves stories in order to live.’ Girls Write Now blows this wide open, thanks to seasoned mentors helping new writers tell their stories in order to live better. The brave and heartfelt stories in this anthology will help all of us live better. Together.” — LESLIE LEHR, author of A Boob’s Life: How America’s Obsession Shaped Me … and You
“Girls Write Now’s mission to instill the power of the written word from an early age is a necessary one for young writers. It is my hope that they all carry that sense of power with them into adulthood, and never lose the courage to express themselves.” — MEGAN MARGULIES, author of My Captain America
“Even if you think you’re a full-blown adult, Girls Write Now work will time-warp you back to your most emotionally intense and vulnerable years—and you’ll be so happy it did. Brimming with fresh and unexpected wisdom, the 2022 anthology is a necessary reminder that, no matter how old, we’re all always a little bit teenage.” — GRACE PERRY, author of The 2000s Made Me Gay: Essays on Pop Culture
“Women have been consistently silenced throughout history by those afraid of the enormous power that their collective voices wield. Girls Write Now provides the invaluable mentorship and guidance girls need to connect with the fire that was always inside of them.” — LIZ PLANK, author of For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity
“Building bridges, unlocking worlds, unleashing hidden potential—all begin with cultivating confidence and expression. Girls Write Now provides a gateway to young writers everywhere to find their words and express their voices for the moment and the future. They are changed. We are changed, all for the better.” — VANESSA RILEY, author of Island Queen
“What a gift it is to be able to read young writers while they’re developing, to get a glimpse behind the curtain of the creative process and witness the incredibly unique and vibrant voices come into their full power. Girls Write Now is an incredible organization and these literary conversations between established and brand-new writers are a joy to read.” — DANA SCHWARTZ, author of Anatomy: A Love Story
“Girls Write Now inspired me to think of myself as more than someone who writes, but as a writer. My years as a mentee gave me the foundation to be the author I’m proud to be today.” — JOY L. SMITH, author of Turning and Girls Write Now mentee alum
“Some of the young writers I met within the organization Girls Write Now are some of the brightest, most intelligent, and strongest young minds I’ve encountered in my many, many years of teaching and presenting. I cannot underscore enough the importance of the Girls Write Now organization, which mentors, supports, and empowers these young women. I cannot underscore enough the importance of their voices, voices that are needed to save others and change the course of our troubled nation and world.” — PAMELA SNEED, author of Funeral Diva
“Young women represent the change we would like to see in a world in which half the population is female. Yet their and many other marginalized voices are stifled by lack of educational opportunities due to societal and cultural constraints. Girls Write Now is the beginning of a collective awareness that our youth have something to say, and they have the voices in which to enact those societal changes. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, ‘Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.’ I say, never underestimate the power of the young people who can write those books.” — KATHY STEARMAN, author of It’s Not About the Gun: Lessons from My Global Career as a Female FBI Agent
“The work in this anthology is a testament to the importance of the mentorship and support provided by Girls Write Now for young voices. It’s so magical and special to see what these writers can do when given a chance to play on the page.” — KAYLA KUMARI UPADHYAYA, author of Helen House
“Girls Write Now is creating a diverse community of future leaders that will guide the next generation on the path to creativity, knowledge, and power. They are changing lives one word and one story at a time.” — AILEEN WEINTRAUB, author of Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir
“Literature lives on as the most powerful form of expression. Girls Write Now empowers young women to declare their interpretations of the world and transcend generations to ignite minds.” — ELAINE WELTEROTH, author of More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
“As always, I am so thrilled and grateful for what Girls Write Now manages to make. Here, not only poetry and prose, but also we see writers themselves being made, unmade, and made anew. As Tess Nealon Raskin says in ‘liar’s job,’ the writer might be a necromancer, who dances with the things not living, brings them to life, bringing herself to life. The young, very alive writers here make art with language. Yacine Barry moves deftly between forms of language, formal and informal address, into emojis in her ‘The Birth of the Rose Flower.’ In ‘Where Reality Truly Resides?’ Fariha Chowdhury moves and changes language, making it sound richer with connection: Bengal tiger, Bengali traders, bargain, bare minimum. These young women make themselves, look back and around at their mothers and sisters, and go forward to make a literature that considers and serves community.” — TIPHANIE YANIQUE, author of Monster in the Middle
Taking Root
The Girls Write Now 2022 Anthology
FOREWORD BY Allison Russell
INTRODUCTION BY Madeline McIntosh
Copyright © 2022 by Girls Write Now, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Any requests for using, reproducing, storing, or transmitting by any means of this work should be directed to Girls Write Now, 247 West 37th Street, Suite 1000, New York, NY 10018, Attn: Copyright Request.
Published 2022
Printed in the United States
Print ISBN: 978-0-9962772-6-6
E-ISBN:9781952177248
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022902220
Cover design by Dominique Jones
For information, write to:
Girls Write Now, Inc.
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1000
New York, NY 10018
[e-mail]
girlswritenow.org
Taking Root
The Girls Write Now 2022 Anthology
Perhaps you’ve seen a mangrove. These saltwater-loving trees grow thickly along the coastlines of South Florida. They edge the shores in heavy clumps; they huddle in meandering rows. The roots will catch your eye first: a rich reddish-brown color, they grow out of the brackish water like creeping fingers. As a child, I thought the roots were trying to wrench themselves from the sediment—that the mangrove was a tree desperately seeking other waters.
What I didn’t know then was that the mangrove had adapted to thrive there. Between twice-a-day tides, the stilt-like roots pull oxygen from the air. The sediment that collects beneath the roots builds the shoreline, and a vibrant community of plants and animals lives on or below the roots. Even the leaves are gifted. Two holes on each pump out the excess salt; it covers the waxy green leaves like crystals.
The young writers of Taking Root: The Girls Write Now 2022 Anthology remind me of those red mangroves and their hardy, branching roots. Like the tree, they flourish at the borders