PEN in the Classroom
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PiTC WRITER’S APPLICATION
“We learned to write what we feel without fear.”
--Student, Downtown Magnet High School
“The program let my students recognize that authors are ‘regular’ people (with talent) and helped them to see the talent within themselves.”
--Sarah Schact, Teacher, Culver City High School
“The process of writing about their joys, fears, and past history taught students to understand the power of creative writing and encouraged them to pursue their education to the highest levels, not only for themselves, their community, but also for those who would deny it of them.”
--Alejandro Morales, PEN in the Classroom writer
About PEN in the Classroom
Since 1995, PEN in the Classroom (PITC) has helped thousands of underserved Southern California high school students discover the power of their unique voices by sending professional poets, novelists, screenwriters, and journalists into their classrooms for 12-week-long creative writing residencies. Operating mostly in schools whose test scores lag far behind national and state averages, our residencies center on the power of language, the empowering transcendence of words, and the revelatory ability to master them. PITC visiting writers hone the tools young writers inherently possess, while simultaneously exposing them to a professional world many of them have never before considered.
Residencies blend the exploration of classic and multicultural literature with the practical art of writing, and conclude with the publication of a student anthology. Students also have the opportunity to participate in public readings and submit to our annual PEN in the Classroom Literary Contest. Response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive, with teachers, students, and writers alike expressing unequivocal support.
The objectives of PITC are to enhance the writing and reading skills of students; to introduce teachers and students to professional writers and their work; to provide role models for at-risk youth; and to support meaningful teaching opportunities for PEN members dedicated to their art and education.
How does this program work?
PITC is coordinated directly with enthusiastic teachers, and aligned with California arts and language content standards. Writers are selected from PEN’s diverse membership to best match the needs of students and teachers. Working with the teacher, the PITC writer develops a curriculum tailored to the individual class. A writer’s residency is comprised of a teacher/writer meeting, 12 in-class writing workshops, publication of a student anthology, and a culminating public reading.
What happens in the classroom?
Writers will develop a course outline and lesson plans, in conjunction with the teacher, before the start of the residency. Depending on the writer’s background and students’ needs, students will write poetry, plays, fiction, or creative nonfiction. A typical residency blends selected readings with classroom discussions and thematically linked writing exercises. Students will spend a good chunk of the class period writing. Take-home work and longer-term exercises may also be assigned. Though the writer will run the workshops, and provide written feedback to the students, it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure credit is given for completion of assignments and to maintain control of the classroom (though this is seldom an issue). Towards the end of the residency, the writer will collect work to be published by PEN USA in an anthology, a copy of which will be provided to each student. At the conclusion of the program, students will participate in a public reading of their work, to which parents, students, and members of the public will be invited.
How long do writer-residencies last?
Writers conduct in-class workshops once a week, for a period of twelve weeks. Classes are typically one hour, depending on the school schedule. In the case of block-scheduling, workshops are adjusted accordingly.
Is this a volunteer program?
Writers are paid a stipend for each writing workshop, as well as for compiling a student anthology.
Who funds PITC?
PEN in the Classroom is made possible this year by the Winnick Family Foundation, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, the Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the California Arts Council, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Support is also received from individuals, local school PTAs and by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has included PEN in the Classroom in its Arts Community Partnership Network. Past funders have included the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Times Mirror Foundation, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Californa Community Foundation, the California Arts Council, the Fulfillment Fund, Northrup Grumman, and Sony Pictures.
How does one begin?
If you are a PEN member interested in conducting a residency, or a teacher who would like to host a writer, contact the PEN USA Program Director to receive an application.
PITC writers have included:
SARAH ARSONE: Poet / essayist / journalist. Books of poetry include Guilty and Zen and the Art of Changing Diapers
JACKIE AUSTIN: Journalist, screenwriter, essayist
LILI BARSHA: Author of 365 Days of Humiliation and Haunted Cabaret, an annual fright play
MICHAEL CIRELLI: Performance poet, National Poetry Slam finalist, author of numerous anthologized poems and chapbooks
K.C. COLE: Author of The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty. Physical Science correspondent, The Los Angeles Times.
BRENDAN CONSTANTINE: Poet and author of Dante’s Casino, and One Matador
ROB EDWARDS: Screenwriter for film and television.
EMORY HOLMES II: Writer / journalist. Contributor to Turning Point Magazine, LA Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Times.
ED HUMES: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author of School of Dreams, and four other books
MICHAEL C FORD: Poet and author of Cottonwood Tract and Emergency Exits
SARAH JACOBUS: Writer of creative non-fiction
RACHEL KANN: Nationally known performance poet, founder of Co:Lab-Oration
JEFFREY MCDANIEL: poet, Author of three books of poetry. Published in Best American Poetry 1994
ALEJANDRO MORALES: Author of Reto en el Paraiso, The Brick People and The Rag Doll Plagues.
GARY PHILLIPS: Author of The Perpetrators, The Jook, and High Hand, as well as screenplays, comic books, and op-eds
RAPHAEL PIZARRO: Author, journalist, union activist
JOSE RIVERA: Nationally recognized, Obie Award-winning author of Marisol, Cloud Tectonics, The Promixe Sonnets for an Old Century, and Sueño
ARIEL ROBELLO: Poet, former PEN Emerging Voices Fellow, and author of My Sweet Unconditional
ALEIDA RODRIGUEZ: Poet, author of Garden of Exile. Essays appear in ZYZZYVA and Sleeping With One Eye Open.
LESLIE SCHWARTZ: Novelist, author of critically acclaimed Jumping the Green
MICHELE SERROS: Poet, author of Chicana Falsa, a book of short stories.
SUSAN SUNTREE: Poet, playwright, translator.
JERVEY TERVALON: Author of Understand This, a novel and Living for the City, a collection of stories.
DAVID ULIN: Author of Cape Cod Blues, a book of poems. Contributor to The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Newsday, Chicago Tribune and Salon.
Participating high schools have included:
Belmont
Birmingham
Cleveland
Crenshaw
Culver City
Del Rey
Downtown Magnets
Dorsey
Fairfax
Fremont
Grant
Hamilton
Jefferson
Lynwood
Manual Arts
Marshall
Narbonne
North Hollywood
Palisades
Roosevelt
San Fernando
Santa Monica
South Gate
University
Venice
Wilson