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DOCUMENT RESUME ED (^305 635) CS 211 745 AUTHOR (^) Starr, Al TITLE (^) WorkingThe Creative Together. Writing Forum--High Schools and Colleges PUB DATE Mar 89 NOTE (^) 12p.; Paper presented et the Annual Meeting of the Conference (40th, Seattle, on College WA, March Composition 16-18, 1989). and Communication PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) -- Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRSDESCRIPTORS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. College Community English; Colieaes; *College *Creative School Writing; Cooperation; Higher PublicEducation; Schools;^ High StudentSchools; Motivation;^ *Program^ Descriptions; *Workshops IDENTIFIERS Essex Community College MD; *Writing Contests ABSTRACT is a cooperative^ The venture^ Creative sponsored^ Writing by^ Forum three^ of community^ Essex^ Community colleges^ College and thepresentations public school and systemworkshops in Baltimoreare given County,by a featured Maryland, creative in which writer and designed a scholarship to remind to high a community school and college college is Englishawarded. teachers The forum thatwas they arewrite doing creatively, different and parts to encourageof the same students job, to to encourage continue studentstheir studies to at consideble Essex Community change asCollege. alternative The original sources plan of fundingfor the wereforum sought underwent afterhave beenthe firstvery favorable,forum was held.and the Reactions program tois thenow firstrefined two to forums the point wherekind ofonly program minor canalterations work at otherwill beinstitutions needed. With as somewell. revision, this (RS)
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ttl In^ Essex^ Community^ College's^ Writing^ Center,^ I^ recently P41 w.Jrked^ with^ a^ student^ who^ described^ herself^ as^ a^ "reviseaholic."
C3 Perhaps after you hear this presentation about the Creative
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Writing Forum, you will decide that her condition was contagious. During this talk, I will illustrate how the Forum was a product of fate, borrowed ideas, bad luck that turned out to be good, and, most of all, collaboration and revision. Before I provide the history of the Creative Writing Forum, I will give you a general idea of what I'm talking about. The Creative Writing Forum is a cooperative venture that is sponsored by three community colleges and the public school system in Baltimore County, Maryland. It^ involves^ presentations^ and workshops that are given by-- featured^ creative^ writer^ and various local creative writers. The^ project,^ also,^ includes^ a contest (with a scholarship as a prize) and various opportunities for students, faculty, and members of the community to interact with each other and the featured writer. It^ is^ a^ unique^ event, and it is also one that you may wish to adapt to your own needs, after you hear how we changed it ourselves. It's amazing how fate can control the directions we take in our professional lives. One^ day^ during^ the^ fall^ of^ 1984,^ I stopped by the office of my department head to ask her about some very "important" matter that I cannot even recall at this point. What I can recall is the end of our conversation when she offered
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Charles Allen, whom I had noticed in the audience about halfway through Sally Fitzgerald's talk. Charlie, who was then supervisor of English or^ Ba.^ .imore^ City^ Schools,^1 d^ hired^ me^ for^ my first tee-hing position after graduate school. I^ was^ glad^ to^ see^ him, and we spent much of dinner catching up on old times and then talking about what a great idea this event was. At^ the^ end^ of dinner, as we were walking out to our cars, he told me about another event that had equally impressed him. A^ few^ years earlier, Johns Hopkins University had sponsored a series of talks to get Baltimore City school students interested in creative writing. At^ each^ session,^ a^ well^ known^ creative^ writer^ would talk to an audience of high school students about why he or she loved to write. Charlie^ said^ that^ although^ he^ was^ apprehensive at first about how students would take these talks, he was amazed by the positive results. He^ added^ that^ he^ really^ regretted^ that the series had not been repeated because of budgetary constraints. In the wee':s that followed, I often thought about that evening and what I wanted to borrow from it for a project of my own. I^ wanted^ to^ come^ up^ with^ an^ idea^ that^ would^ remind^ high school and college English teachers that they were doing different parts of the same job, and one that would encourage students to write creatively. At^ the^ same^ time,^ I^ wanted^ to excite students about creative writing and to interest these students in continuing their studies at Essex Community College. My obvious problem involved trying to come up with a project that would allow me to achieve all of these results. When^ I
eventually formulated my ideas about this project, I borrowed parts of an approach that I knew had been a success. For years, the Speech and Drama Department at Essex had been sponsoring one leg of the Triple Crown--High School Speech Tournament, which was begun by a professor at the college. On three designated Saturdays, high school students from throughout the state of Maryland gather at first Essex, then Catonsville, and finally Harford Community Colleges. Then^ for^ a^ full^ day students compete in such events as poetry interpretation, debate, and duet acting. I^ know^ a^ great^ deal^ about^ this^ event^ because for years I have volunteered to be a judge. And^ although^ I^ was reluctant to be judge at first, I have returned almost every year because of the positive experiences I have had. The^ quality^ of the performances, the interaction among the students and among the students and their teachers, and the opportunity for my college to show itself off in the best possible light are what keep bringing me back. And^ these^ are^ the^ reasons^ that^ my original conception of the Creative Writing Forum borrowed freely from the speech tournament. Soon afterwards, after meeting with my division chairman and a supervisor from the English Office for the Baltimore^ County Public Schools, I submitted a written proposal for a project that borrowed freely from each of the events that I have described. Little did I know at the time how much my grand design was destined to change. The^ following^ are^ excerpts^ from^ a^ letter^ I wrote describing the Creative Writing Forum as I saw it in February 1985:
me. But it's not what eventually happened. And^ here^ is^ where^ bad luck that turned out to be good took over. The people who handle grant funding for Essex loved the idea, but they could find no one locally to finance it. They then suggested that I file grant applications with several agencies and wait. But^ waiting^ is^ generally^ not^ part^ of^ my nature, and besides, two years before I had waited for a "sure thing" grant to be accepted, only to have it turned down. So^ I acted this time as I eventually did in the previous case, and I sought alternative funding. I knew that if I asked my college to pay for the event by itself, that we would not be able to afford a very prominent writer and that the Forum might occur once, but it most likely would never be repeated. After^ I^ considered^ that^ possibility,^ I made a change which ended up greatly improving my original concept. There are three community colleges in Baltimore County, Maryland, and although the colleges have the same board, they are independent in all other ways. Despite^ that^ fact,^ I^ decided^ to approach the other two colleges with my proposal and the suggestio. that we rotate the Forum from one college to the next for a trial period of three years. To^ my^ surprise,^ the^ other^ two schools, Catonsville and Dundalk Community Colleges, were very enthusiastic about the idea. But^ there^ was^ one^ missing^ piece,^ so I asked the English Office of the Baltimore County Public Schools to co-sponsor this project, and I received this office's full support. From that point on, the Creative Writing Forum became a
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collaborative effort. First, we set up a steering committee that included English department members from each community college and three high school teachers, plus one representative from the English office of Baltimore County. When^ the^ committee^ met,^ we determined to work in two directions to acquire funding. At^ the same time that we sought external funding, we went after institutional support of one thousand dollars per community college and five hundred dollars from the county schools. The latter method, with some modifications in the amount of support, is the one we have used to pay for the Forum for the last three years. Once the issue of funding was settled, we talked about a featured writer for the first year of the Forum. After^ some preliminary work, we created a list of potential speakers. We wanted someone who could vork well with students and who could give an excellent public reading, and we were fortunate enough to get William Stafford to agree to be the featured author at the first Creative Writing Forum. Once these matters were taken care of, the steering committee began to review and revise my original plan. Because there are twenty-one high schools in Baltimore County, we decided to limit each school to one representative per one thousand students (thirty students for the whole county). These^ thirty representatives were to be chosen by means of a contest at each institution, and one of each student's works was to be entered in the contest for a community college scholarship. At^ this^ point,
after the talk, the featured author would present each student with a signed volume that contained the works that had been discussed. After planning these two days, the committee went on to look at the remainder of the Forum's schedule. After^ some^ discussion, the committee decided to maintain one part of my original plan and to change two other aspects of it. What^ stayed^ the^ same^ was the idea of allowing the students to revise their entries after they heard what their peers had to say about them during the peer review session. (The^ entrants^ were^ given^ two^ weeks^ to^ revise their entries if they chose to do so.) At^ the^ same^ time^ the steering committee removed two elements that the members thought would add even more expense and complications to an already expensive and complex event--having the winning selections presented on cable television and printing all of the entries in a special booklet. The 1986-1987 Creative Writing Forum was almost everything that we had hoped it would be. William^ Stafford^ gave^ an excellent reading and worked very well with the students; his reading was well attended; and the students, faculty, and members of the community evaluated the event very positively. However, based on the students' evaluations, our own assessment of the event, and William Stafford's reactions to the Forum, we made several changes before the second Forum. First, although the student:: loved the workshops with local writers, they were less impressed with the peer review sessions. Despite the fact that these sessions allowed them to hear thy' reactions
of students other than those who attended their schools, they felt that these reactions were little different from chose that they already received in their creative writing classes. Instead of the peer reviews, they asked us to expand the workshops, and we decided to do so. Next, the members of the steering committee felt that the committee itself was too large to be effective and that the high school faculty members were being overwhelmed by the combination of classroom demands and committee tasks. Thus, the committee was cut back to two representatives per college and one representative from the Baltimore County Public Schools. Finally, we made a change based on a comment made by William Stafford in answer to a question posed by the faculty advisor of Essex's student newspaper. She^ asked^ him^ (rather^ facetiously), "How does it feel to be one of the prizes in a contest?" His eloquent answer went well beyond her question. He talked about how creative writers are too often taught to compete for prizes instead of compering with themselves. After^ the^ members^ of^ the steering committee thought about his response, we determined to deemphasize the contest elements of th Forum.^ Instead,^ we decided to let each high school select three juniors or seniors as representatives with the selection process to be based on who would benefit most from the program and not on a contest. Then, we allowed any student who was interested in competing for a community college scholarship to do so by submitting a brief portfolio of his or her works to us a few weeks before the Forum itself. Thus,^ we^ were^ able^ to^ select^ the^ scholarship^ winner before the Forum took place and to announce the winner the night
