Just Kicking Around Some Words
Launch the media gallery 1 playerEvery year, around registration time, I can count on the same question rearing its familiar head: “So, Mrs. Shoe, what exactly do you guys do in Creative Writing?” Though my standard reply of, “Well, we . . . write . . . creatively,” usually garners some giggles, it simply does not do justice to the wordsmithery that occurred in Room 206 during seventh period of the first semester.
This year’s Creative Writing class consisted of four students. Seniors Danny Smith, Connor Kinney, and Tre Henkenius were joined by junior Angela Richart. Though small in numbers, the class was large on talent. It was inspiring to watch the students have such a significant impact on one another’s writing. It was also interesting to watch each author develop his/her own style.
In addition to daily journals and a variety of writing exercises, the students penned some short stories, both in groups and individually. They also created various poems—both free verse and structured. Most importantly, they learned the skill of simply playing with words.
The culmination of their talents can be found in four different publications. The first one is a creative writing book titled Just Kicking Around Some Words, a namesake which was developed by Kinney. It is a compilation of some of their favorite works from the semester. Each student received his/her own copy, and a copy is available in the high school library. Three of the students were also published in the Homestead National Monument anthology as a result of their participation in a poetry slam we attended in Beatrice. The final two are classroom publications of a short story on which they collaborated and a collection of their individual short stories. Feel free to stop by the library to peruse their talents or ask a class member to share his/her copy.
Congratulations on a successful semester, talented writers!