Young Authors’ Faire
This year I stepped in to be the Young Authors’ Faire coordinator. Fiction, poetry, autobiography, nonfiction, graphic novels, collaborative pieces, individual pieces--the creative writing options were vast, encompassing our students’ interests no matter what they prefer. For the last month, I have pestered students and teachers alike for submissions.
Writing is a huge part of my life and my greatest teaching joy is to pass that on. Unfortunately, it feels as though it has become less and less valued in our society over the years, but it is, always has been, always will be monumental in student development--academic and emotional. Yesterday I collected submissions from students at all grade levels, which was a heartwarming and wonderful surprise. (Pestering success!)
By 3:00, with armfuls of books in tow, I realized that perhaps I’d bitten off more than I can chew. But I read through every one of them last night, and it was a wonderful process. It was like reading a novel in one sitting (which I love, love to do when I have the time), but this novel was a mural of growing up--ideas and abilities spanning the most precious years, creativity blooming, then expanding, then learning concision and control. I have studied reading and writing for a long time, and this was more educational than many a class or seminar I’ve attended.
Then, the challenge. I can only submit one piece per genre per grade level. This was where I really started to shy away from my coordinator position. This was where I felt like I hadn’t just bitten off more than I can chew, I might never eat again. I found myself frozen, afraid to make decisions. Along with feeling that writing is undervalued in our society, I could not bear the thought that I might discourage a student. I couldn’t stop thinking, What if because of this they never write again?? Trust me, the pursuit of writing is a discouraging life path to choose no matter what. To feel responsible for putting a student through it is just awful.
In the end, I had to choose. I had to select the authors whose books would go on to the faire, and they deserve a big congratulations. But I really do wish I could do more, or that I could preserve all of their interest in writing, even if the outcome was disheartening.
So please, if your student submitted a book, tell them how wonderful it is that they did. Tell them that writing books is an important and brave pursuit, that they’ve made themselves a better person by doing so, and that whether they’re moving on to the faire or not, I will come back pestering next year.