New York skyscrapers are far from the sky-scraping Smoky Mountains, and in combining our stories, we shared our fierce pride for our homes and the inherent poetry there is in growing up in these places.
Story
Alice Rosenberg
Mentee
Alice Rosenberg is a 14-year-old writer who keeps track of all of her ideas in one of her many, many notebooks. She loves rainy days, poetry collections and forget-me-nots. Her bedroom walls are filled with magazine cutouts and other paraphernalia she has collected over the years. Her favorite word is "opia," which is the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable.
Artist‘s Statement
Over the course of this year, I’ve explored how I can incorporate the works of other writers into my own, whether that be through found poetry, erasure stories, or inspired adaptations.
Story
Rising and Falling and Crashing
The five “Yearlies” stay on the tiny beach island over the summer, while the rest of their boarding school friends go home.
Story
Summer
A short story I wrote about one of my favorite memories from summer that blurred into my favorite dreams.
Story
Ophelia
A poem about Ophelia and the thoughts running through her mind.
Story
The Fountain
“The Fountain” explores the fear of aging and being forgotten through the eyes of Lilian, a 74-year-old New Yorker who makes a surreal discovery on one of her countless boring afternoons.