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Anthology 9 Young Writers Project Dedication to Young Writers Project Founder Geoff Gevalt Young Writers Project owes its vitality to many generous people, but this book is dedicated to the one individual who invented it, persuaded others that it could work, and saw it through at every step of the way for a remarkable 12-year run. Geoff Gevalt is a newspaperman at heart – Young Writers Project actually began as a monthly series in the Burlington Free Press, where he was managing editor – and, like every good journalist, he is energized by the power of words. He understands their ability to inspire and shape lives, and as he built up Young Writers Project, he never lost sight of his belief that young people in their formative years could tap into the magic of writing, and from there, live richer lives, bend the arc of their own life stories and contribute to a better world. Geoff is stepping down this year from full-time duties as executive director, but will continue to contribute in many ways, and his ideals are written into the DNA of our organization. Geoff has touched countless lives. Below is a small sample of his impact on YWPers, past and present: Thank you for teaching this kid from the middle of nowhere that there are people in the world who want to hear the stories floating around in her head. — REBECCA VALLEY, NORTHAMPTON, MASS. Without you, MGMC wouldn’t be a thing. Thank you for the music-filled car rides, the stories you’ve shared and the time you’ve taken to listen. — KIRAN WAQAR, SOUTH BURLINGTON, MUSLIM GIRLS MAKING CHANGE (MGMC) I think about you all, and the site, constantly. It wasn’t a fleeting or “stepping stone” thing for me – it was my life, carved me straight out of stone, shaped me completely! I wish I could thank you enough, Geoff, but never, ever could I. Greg Brand — KATY TURNER, NEW YORK CITY I felt less emotion upon graduating from high school than I did upon hearing that you’d be moving on from YWP, and that as a soon-to-be adult I might be forced to move on, too. You and YWP have been there for me since I was 12 and just in the early days of my writing journey. — ELLA STAATS, BURLINGTON Young Writers Project very genuinely shifted the course of my life. I don’t know how I could ever thank you for what you have done for me – and given to me. — ANNA RUTENBECK, WASHINGTON, D.C. 2 3 About Young Writers Project At Young Writers Project, we create a safe and respectful community for middle- and high-school students to discover the power of writing. By learning to write, young people gain the ability to express themselves clearly, think creatively and discover who they are — a process that can be life-changing in both their personal and professional lives. We are rooted in Vermont, and welcome young writers, artists and photographers from everywhere to experience our website, publications and special events. OUR PROGRAMS • Youngwritersproject.org is the heartbeat of our mission, providing daily writing challenges, positive feedback and a sense of community. For many of our writers, especially those living in rural and remote areas, our website is a lifeline to people like themselves who want to explore the world of writing, ideas and creativity. • Special gatherings, workshops and after-school events bring young people together to learn more about the art of writing and performance. YWP’s Schools Project provides teachers their own classroom websites, support and writing residencies. Our youth-led Voices for Change project works to celebrate differences and promote understanding through spoken word events and community outreach. • “The Voice” gives affirmation to the works of young writers and photogra- phers in a beautiful, monthly, online magazine. • The Anthology Series publishes outstanding poems, stories and images in an annual, high-quality book format. • Media partners present young writers’ work on Vermont Public Radio, Zoe Maxwell, Burlington VTDigger.org, RETN, medium.com, and in newspapers across Vermont — the Bradford Journal-Opinion, Brattleboro Reformer, Burlington Free Press, Charlotte News, Hinesburg Record, Rutland Herald, St. Albans Messenger, Times Argus and Valley News. • Live performance events in the Burlington area include SoundCheck at Bur- lington City Arts, Poetry Riot at Arts Riot, Voices of Color Showcase at the Lamp Shop, Poetry Experience at Fletcher Free Library and a Youth Speaker Series at Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte. 4 5 About Anthology 9 Young Writers Project believes that one of the most joyful aspects of writing is to see your work published in print, on good paper, with beautiful photography, fine design, and quality binding fashioned to last. With Anthology 9, we continue our tradition of rewarding some of the best work of the past year with the sense of permanence that only a published volume can achieve. The writers, photographers and artists published in Anthology 9 are drawn from about 10,000 submissions made to youngwritersproject.org from June 2017 to July 2018. It has been a tumultuous time in the history of our country, and events that roiled the nation inevitably made their way onto youngwritersproject.org. Young people, as you will see in the pages that follow, grappled with some of the most pressing issues of our day — the fate of immigrants, the rights of minorities, the dignity of women, school shootings — and their words are a testament to an informed, engaged generation. It is gratifying that these young people turn to Young Writers Project as a safe space and meaningful platform to share their voices at such a critical time in their lives and our history. Writing, of course, encompasses the full spectrum of human experience, and along with dark and complex pieces, this book includes poems and stories full of imagination, sunshine and sheer delight. With many of our writers and artists based in Vermont, it seems only right that the natural world of this beautiful state appears frequently in our collection. And, as always in our anthologies, young people wonder who they really are, as childhood slips away and adulthood beckons. We hope you enjoy this anthology, and hope it contains, for you, an idea, an image, a turn of phrase, something that resonates after you close the book. THE EDITORIAL TEAM: Susan Reid, Anna Forsythe, Shannon Ripp, Kathy Folley, William Anderson, Rajnii Eddins, Andrea Gray (design) and Alan Schill- hammer (Queen City Printers). Joshua Baker, Essex Junction THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS & PARTNERS: Young Writers Project is fortunate to have the support of many generous foundations, businesses and individuals, including: The Bay and Paul Foundations, Amy E. Tarrant Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Physician’s Computer Company, and Vermont Business Roundtable and its members. SPECIAL THANKS also to our fellow nonprofit partners and YWP friends, including the YWP Board led by Chair Kathy Folley, Arts Riot, Burlington City Arts, Burlington Telecom, Champlain College, Clemmons Family Farm, Flying Pig Bookstore, Flynn Center for Performing Arts, Karma Birdhouse, King Street Center, Maglianero’s, My Brother’s Keeper, Nutty Steph’s, Peace & Justice Center, Phoenix Books, Regional Educational Television Network (RETN), Shelburne Farms, Teresa Davis Studio, University of Vermont, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Vermont Folklife Center, Vermont Learning for the Future, Vermont Stage Company, VSAC, and Ver- mont libraries, schools and media, including newspapers, VPR.net and VTDigger.org. 6 7 Hands you can be hammering away at six dozen different ideas and not crack any Neelie Markley, Burlington of them open. Look at your hands. They are twin And now you don’t notice anything. moons orbiting around you, with objects You swallow instead of tasting, you sing gravitating toward them and flying away. without hearing, you praise yourself, thinking you’ll be better at life the next Note the geography of them: the time you live it. Maybe then, you’ll have mountain range of knuckles that rises time to be happy. from clenched fists, the valleys between the tall, branchless fingers, the creased Maybe then, you’ll notice your hands. riverbeds etched through your palms. Look closer. Observe the whorls on your fingertips, the subtle beat of your blood The Beautiful Inevitable as it courses through your wrists, the white edges of bone stretching the limits Eden Anne Bauer, Hanover, NH of your skin. There’s a whole rainbow bleeding out from your hands – soft, How beautifully the brush of existence blue-green veins, reddened fingernails, sweeps across the broad canvas of the violet scars. sky, leaving streaks of color Zoe Maxwell, Burlington Look again. See the cuticles you’ve in compliance with the whispered wish of watching ripped ragged with time, the slits of your Masterpiece Temporary fingernail tips, the collection of rashes eyes. and bruises and calluses you’ve collected Raising a harmonious symphony, Abigayle Domingue, St. Albans Taylor Lavigne, St. Albans without noticing. the birds cradle joy and sadness in song; as ink-black darkness spreads infinitely, Her lipstick prints onto the white You were temporary, Without noticing. light slips from the sky, but not for too ceramic, a slow-moving butterfly long. creating a collage of red against the white flying across my yard, You don’t notice hands, do you? Look at I catch my reflection in the window gloss. staying for the prettiest flowers, them. They’re alien, perfectly coordinated, and watch the twinkling stars dance in The ripples in her lips magnify the the open, beating sun, fluttering around you, preening you, my eyes. texture of the stain, the long grass. protecting you.

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