Becoming Women: The 2008 Girls Write Now Anthology is now available on Amazon.
The theme of this year’s season and anthology, Becoming Women, reflects an understanding that growth is both constant and necessary. We are always becoming: women; writers; and together, a community of women writers.
FROM THE FOREWORD:
“This anthology is also structured, very specifically, around us as women, as each genre-based work- shop is matched with a body part. Breasts first, we boldly launch the season with memoir, and any growing pains we feel or remember — too big, too small, too early, too late, a little lopsided — are soothed with this valuable piece of workshop-inspired advice: “Stop complaining about how [insert adjective here] they are, and just embrace them for what they are!” Indeed, we emerge from this experiment armed with the courage and self-confidence to face our fears head-on; eager to get to know ourselves and one another.”
FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
When young women are given assistance and encouragement with their writing, we all win. We win the joy of reading their work, of peeking inside the minds of teenaged girls and feeling the force of their honesty, their vitality, and their prodigious imaginations. We win the peace of mind that comes with knowing that good work is being done on behalf of people who appreciate it. When young writers are empowered to do their best work, and to share that work with the rest of the world, we all benefit. For proof, all you need to do is turn the page. – Janice Erlbaum
FROM BECOMING WOMEN:
I’m from the place of oodles
The place of Skelly courts and handball
Basketball sounds are my alarm clock
The police are the snooze button
RnB rap reggae and soca dress me in the morning.
Manhattan skylines are out my window—
Close as if I can touch them in the morning as the sun rises over the buildings.
Walking into the kitchen, I see walls that reflect every house in the building
I smell bacon emerging from the microwave, as I look into the home of Kool-Aid
I enter the living room of generations to blast the same song that echoes through everyone’s ears in every house
I walk back into my kitchen and look back in my fridge as if hoping to see something new.
– Samantha White