Monthly Archives: March 2013

Fresh Ink

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eric and keith

A new batch of poems is up on the Exclusive Ink website, many of which are definitely being considered for publication in our print journal that will be out before the end of the semester. Although we’ve gotten to hear each student’s individual voice develop throughout this year, it’s been really impressive to see the shift in content and see evidence of refinement of their writing technique. Here’s a teaser of what’s to come.

“Water’s Symphony” by Kyla
Money Line: Soul soothing like a harp. Hypnotic like a violin. Extravagant like a cello. Prius like an organ. Rhythmic like a loved one’s heartbeat. Sweet like the bass drum in a dream.

“New York” by Fernando
Money Line: We didn’t have many toys so the street was our playground.

“Music” by Curtis
Money Line: Music is a part of me; without it I don’t exist. / It’s always by my side and in my head as I reminisce.

“Puzzled (Shattered)” by Keith
Money Line: Blood tackling the floor with a loud echo like / a jackhammer’s banging voice pierces his ear.

“Sleeping in the Slide Tunnel” by Paula
Money Line: What if they have nothing else / to cling to but the / rusted steel links that discolor / their sweaty palms?

Contributed by Luke Wortley

No Bologna: Mentor Pens Best Essay

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andrew

Every day at Shortridge offers a new opportunity to interact with students in different ways, and a vital cog in our program’s engine is sandwich-making. Yeah, sandwiches. They serve as the focal point for conversation for the first few arrivals and are a constant hangout spot for many of our writers who need a little brain food.

One of our most valued volunteers, senior English major Andrew Erlandson, was able to capture the significance of these bologna and cheese sandwiches in his essay “Bologna and Blogs: A Student’s Journey Towards Actualizing The Purpose of His Higher Education”. His reflection on food for thought at Shortridge took top honors in the Kristi Schultz Broughton Liberal Arts Essay Contest, which “offers students the chance to reflect on the value of a liberal arts education.”

To read the full text version of the essay online, click here.

In his essay, Andrew writes of EN 455 and the Writing in the School’s project: “Unlike other collegiate classes, this one wasn’t an opportunity to learn so much as an opportunity to act in the world.”

Andrew goes on to say that his time at Butler, more specifically his involvement in the liberal arts, has given him “…the clarity to live a deliberate life.” I feel like this quote is particularly important for our mission at Shortridge. Our goal is not to just be writing tutors or homework help; we want to be mentors and provide some of that clarity for the students we work with. We are cognizant of that every time we walk through the front doors. Andrew’s essay definitely serves as an affirmation of the impact the program is having on our students and our mentors alike.

Contributed by Luke Wortley

“They all contributed to the story…”

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jadon and jerry-1

While we all love working with our individual students and hearing their unique voices at the end of the day, we sometimes forget that working in groups helps to produce some really stellar work. There have been several occasions recently when we’ve decided to try a different dynamic and have the students work in larger groups. Some of the results have been awesome, producing some individual and collaborative pieces, which always make for engaging performances. Here’s what our Butler mentors have been saying about the past few weeks:

Dorene Hinton: On Thursday, I worked with the biggest group ever. In this group everyone had their own opinions on how the writing should be set up. It took a lot of convincing and input into the story to form the writing and the performance. Everyone seemed excited to perform and enjoyed the theme. Overall, it was a very interesting experience, and I was excited that they all contributed to the story!

Katee Rice: It was nice working with M— and J—. We worked together really well. M— really tried to stay true to the prompt, and that was nice. I thought the poem they came up with together was really lovely.

Gerry Justice: J— started to write a tribute to himself, and ended up with five or six lines about his father. F—, sitting to my right, wrote a heartfelt tribute to servicemen in general, and then wrapped it up nicely with a connection to his brother, who served in the military.

Compiled by Luke Wortley

Performance Ink

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As those who have volunteered at Shortridge can attest, the student performances that punctuate each Exclusive Ink session are often the most gratifying and entertaining part of our Tuesdays and Thursdays. Due to the miracle of modern technology and the generosity of our donors, the day has come that we are able to share these performances on this blog, in full HD and high-quality sound.

Our writing prompt on Tuesday asked students to look through the eyes of someone they see in the community, to imagine the life of a person they’ve only observed in passing. Paula envisioned what it would be like to be one of the latchkey playground kids for her poem, “Sleeping in the Slide Tunnel.”

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Landan went his own way and wrote about a difficult and intense relationship. The result was “No Love Lost.”

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With his usual verbal dexterity, Eric chronicled the life of a homeless man from his block with the poem, “The Box.”

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Again, we’re so happy to have the capacity to share some of our favorite performances from Shortridge. Look for even more videos in the coming weeks.

Missing Shortridge

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paula

I’ve been coming to Shortridge now since August, and it has been a truly unique experience. Apart from the opportunity to work with these students on such a personal level, it has been a real privilege to watch them grow as writers. As an aspiring writer myself, I know how hard it is to just sit down and make yourself write. So it seems remarkable that they all do every time we’re there. Honestly, I’m a little envious of their productivity—I mean, how do they continuously write such glittering poetry in a mere hour and a half to two hours?

All my writing struggles aside, what I really want to talk about is how much I miss Shortridge when I’m not there. A couple weeks ago I missed a day due to personal reasons. Not being there only highlighted how much I missed hanging out with everyone at Exclusive Ink. I was itching to get back as soon as possible. We all have those things in our lives that we really enjoy, but it is rare to find something that truly becomes part of your life to the point where you wouldn’t know what your life would be like without it. The Exclusive Ink group at Shortridge has become one of those things for me.

After the day I missed, I found out that some of the SHS students had been asking about the whereabouts of “Uncle Luke.” This was pleasantly surprising. I never knew they called me that, and I was so thrilled to hear that the students asked about me. When I’m there, the work is all about them—about their writing, about hanging out with a family of writers that I’ve come to think of as friends. Even when I’m not there, I’m always thinking of ways to contribute to a writing exercise. When I read something, I think of a particular student who may really be into it, too.

Although Spring Break was nice, I can’t wait to get back to Room 238.

Contributed by Luke Wortley

Poetry in (Perpetual) Motion

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doug and curtis 2As we near the midpoint of the semester, it’s becoming pretty clear that we will have some tough choices to make at the end of the year – choices for which pieces to publish in the second edition of Exclusive Ink, that is. In my second semester with the program, I have seen marked improvement in a lot of student work. It never ceases to amaze me just how thoughtful, heartfelt, and downright stunning the student work is. What’s even more astounding is the fact that these students are consistently pumping out high quality poems in such a short amount of time with us each session.

Here are some of the latest poems and stories with some quality money lines.

“The Unknown” by Jammonica
Money Line: Music is the sunshine when hail falls to the ground. And cheating death is different than writing songs on a piece of paper.

“Pyronormal Vanishtivity” by Kyla
Money Line: So he pulled out and drove along the road once more. Isabelle tensed as the sound of police sirens caught the drift of the wind. Fog blinded the windshield as darkness sunk in on the chariot couple.

“I Can See Through You” by Curtis
Money Line: I may not have the blessing of sight like most people do. / But when it comes to personality, I can see through all of you. / You think that I’m helpless because I don’t have one of my senses. / I lost one of my senses, not my common sense.

“Steel and Stone Childhood” by Eric
Money Line: The lack of working man’s fragrance / Leaving a woman to bring home the bacon / With a child bathed in hatred / To run amok in a fathers absence / To only to come back after imprisonment / To train the child to channel hate into poetic sentences

“Mr. Aristotle’s Class of 7” by Isiah
Money Line: When I rule the world, / nothing is going to change, / not in the slightest bit, / because humanity is doomed to repeat history.

Contributed by Luke Wortley