This I Believe!

Based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, "This I Believe" was originally hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists, and secretaries—anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived.

Upon reviving "This I Believe" in 2004, executive producer Dan Gediman said, “The goal is not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs. Rather, the hope is to encourage people to begin the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”

Inspired by this project, we asked our students to write about one of their beliefs. Fourth grader Ashley wrote about her belief in special talents.

I believe that everyone has a special talent. I learned it from the people around me. Some people think they don't have a special talent because it is hard for them to see it in themselves and can only see it in famous people like Martin Luther King.

It is harder for you to see this special talent. All kinds of people have talent, like hobos and orphans. I believe that even animals have a special talent that no other animal has.

I found my talent by people supporting me. My talent is playing soccer and drawing. I know what my friend Sammie's talent is. Her talent is playing tether ball.

"Take My Word For It!" Parents Give It a Whirl!

At our public readings we often surprise parents by starting off the evening with a writing activity for them.

At Redwood Heights Elementary School's reading last week, we challenged the students' parents and family members to write "I am From" poems. Here are some samples of their work:

"I am from textured stockings, coffee with sugar, gold earrings and necklaces.

I am from hiding my hands, hiding in the library, hiding in my room.

I am from emerging into sunlight, fall light, cool winter light,

I am from walking on the mountain, regulating my breath,

I am from prous of my limbs, my lungs, my breath, the feeling of elation that fills me when the leaves turn just so."

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I am from my great aunt's table, filled with good food and good manners.

I am from the land of four seasons where leaves crunch underfoot.

I am from a cozy fire shared by two lounging, lolling cat princesses.

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I am from star dust and dark matter over billions of years and smell like oceans and mountains and dust.

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I am from a farm covered with dirt and the sweet smells of the pig sty. I awakened wach morning to the cock's crow, sometimes at 4:00 a.m. as the days lengthened. I am from the smell of barnyard and the taste of teh cow's salt lick which I shared with the bovines. I am from the freedom of wandering about outside, playing in the creek and hiking in the woods.

Maybe We're Crazy

...but we've posted a Summer Writing & Art Camp 2011 preview. Look for the link on the left.

Food Writing for Kids! Saturday October 2nd 10am -12:15pm

Love to use tantalizing adjectives and scrumptious similes? Love to eat good food?

Then join us for another installment of our fabulous food writing series for kids, "Peanut Butter and the Pen"!  We'll be back at San Francisco's 18 Reason's, a non-profit in the Mission district that engages the community through food and art.

18 Reasons offers a year-round calendar of unique wine tastings, art shows, community dinners, food classes and interactive workshops. Last year "Take My Word For It!" added food writing for kids to their line-up of classes and now we'll be offering a different food-writing class every quarter.

http://www.18reasons.org

Find more juicy info on the class here: http://www.18reasons.org/calendar.php

Ready for a taste? Sign up!

Peanut Butter & The Pen: Children's Food Writing Series
$30 for 18 Reasons members; $35 for the general public
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/129739

Ancient Forms of Writing: Quills 2.0

When the Roman Empire fell, it becamedifficult for religious scribes to get their hands on top quality reeds. Someone noticed that the quill of a goose feather was similar to the stylus reed, and then learned how to shape the hollow end of the feather to serve as a writing utensil. The word "pen" actually comes from the Latin word penna, meaning feather. An early reference to a quill pen appears in the seventh century A.D., in writings by the Spanish theologian Saint Isidore of Seville, who published one of the first encyclopedias. The Europeans found that writing on parchment with a quill pen altered the style of their writing: at first they used capital letters all the time, but later they developed faster styles with small letters. Can you think of a "fast" style of writing?

The writing quill remained the preeminent writing instrument for most of the Western World for over a thousand years. Early scribes wrote and decorated the pages of their manuscripts, including the Bible, with the quill pen. During the Civil War, twelve quills were issued every quarter as part of the normal stationery issue, showing that a quill was expected to last about a week in normal use. After the invention of the metal nib, quills were still habitually used as a matter of choice for many because of their flexibility and writing excellence.

When quills are plucked, the shaft (or barrel) is covered with a membranous skin resulting from the decay of a kind of enveloping sheath. The interior membrane resulting from internal decay also sticks to the barrel. The feather’s shaft is itself opaque, soft, and tough. Quills are hardened by plunging the tip into hot sand after cutting them, as the heat cracks the external membrane and shrivels the internal membrane-- both of which are then scraped away from the hardened barrel. For the finest quills the heating is repeated two or three times. Otherwise the pen can be stood in boiling water to soften the membranes for removal. Other finishing processes involved hardening in acids or alum.

For a step-by-step demonstration of how to prepare a feather as a quill, visit http://medievalwriting.50megs.com/tools/quill.htm

Writing tools, whether ancient or modern, fall into one of two categories: ones that scratch, or ones that stain. In which category is the quill pen?

Jobs for Writers

Being a writer can be more than just a fun pastime or a way to get good grades in school. It can actually be a skill that turns into a lifelong profession. While writing a best-selling book is a lofty goal, there are other jobs that allow those with a passion for words to earn a living and pursue their enthusiasm for expression. But don’t just Take My Word For It!

This week contributor Allison Speer writes about being a copy writer for the zoo!

Growing up, I always kept diaries, journals and poetry books. I never really described myself as a writer, because it was just something I did to release feelings or record moments of my life I wanted to remember. Even when I attended newspaper reporting journalism classes in college, I still wasn’t sure what kind of a writer I wanted to be. I just knew that I was good at it and , that it came easy for me. Mostly I loved how quickly the hours passed when I was typing away at a keyboard.

 I worked for an advertising agency during college and met a woman there who was a copy writer. Using words, she would craft a work of art that was witty, informative and clever. Sometimes her work was displayed on billboards, brochures, even television or radio commercials. How cool, I thought, to see your words posted all over town!

Today, I am a copy writer at the Fort Worth Zoo, one of the top zoos in the country. It takes a lot of reading, questioning and researching into things I don’t have a clue about – like why giraffes don’t bend their knees when they eat grass, or why turtles don’t have teeth. I work with some incredibly smart zoologists and scientists who refer me to scientific journals, web sites, and big, thick books (with no pictures). The great challenge is to take their detailed research and simplify it into a few sentences so all our guests can understand what we want to teach them about the animals.

I guess that’s one of my favorite things about being a writer: You have a chance to learn a little bit about a lot of subjects. And I like walking out into the zoo, seeing a sign describing the gorillas, and being able to say, “Hey, I wrote that!”