BACK HOME AGAIN AT SHORTRIDGE

The Butler Writers program made its much anticipated return to Shortridge High School on Friday, Jan. 29. The still-to-be-named group of teenage wordsmiths will author a new chapter of the WITS program at the legendary Indianapolis institution. The focus for our Shortridge pupils will be a literary journal, both online and in print, one that we eventually hope will be entirely student-run.

To help us get there, we’ve plugged in a pair of publication coaches, Natalie and Anthony, two first-year Butler MFA students from New York. They planned our first day’s programming, which included spirit animal introductions and a Wikipedia prompt. Both activities were well-received by the dozen Shortridge writers who answered our initial call-out. It was fantastic to get reacquainted with several students who remained at the school after the IPS restructuring, poets and storytellers who featured prominently in last spring’s edition of the Exclusive Ink lit mag.

After almost five full years of WITS (!!!), we’re thrilled to finally be able to call two schools home. As the Shortridge publication project grows with the administration’s enthusiastic support, we know our outreach and influence will continue to expand.

How exciting to get a glimpse of the future in a warming Friday sunset.