Category Archives: Shortridge Student Work

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

‘Tis The Season (To Be Exclusive)

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We celebrated our second annual Exclusive Ink Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 6. Per tradition, the gathering commenced with food and smiles, as (from left) Lexie, Michelle, Darlene, Whitney, and Elizabeth can attest.

Paula, Vivian, and Benji grub up and give the thumbs up. Kudos to the trio for delivering strong readings of their best work after chowing down.

A.J. and Rashad bond over hot cheetos, which, by a show of plates, were voted Exclusive Ink’s No. 1 favorite snack by a wide margin.

Like last December, all of our Exclusive Ink students received books from the Butler Writers. Here, Zuri unwraps Tupac Shakur’s The Rose That Grew From Concrete, much to her delight.

The new Exclusive Ink Fall 2012 group photo, a merry snapshot that would certainly look great on a holiday card or up on the wall in Room 237. Big thanks to everyone, Shortridge students and Butler tutors alike, for another wonderful semester.

Photos by Michelle Trainor and Susan Sutherlin

The Dogs And The Devils

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Good things happen when the Butler Bulldogs and the Shortridge Blue Devils get together. If you need proof, check out the following poems that are destined for publication in our second Exclusive Ink print magazine due out this spring.

“Gun” by Benji
Money Line: In unfortunate neighborhoods, a familiar sound acts like a 10:30 alarm, / Letting all be known that the violence being done is ever growing like a farm. / Maybe it’s the role models they watch and listen to. / If good modeling was straight, they’d be as straight as a cashew.

“The Dogs And The Devils” by Darlene
Money Line: The Dogs and the Devils, / hand in hand, / living through the actions / of pen and pad. / Creating the worlds, / they most desire, / the Dogs and the Devils / have the power. 

“Dry My Hands” by Zuri
Money Line: Why do I have to carry / Your broken smiles and / Stolen cookie lies / The ones we promised lookin’ into mama’s eyes?

“F.U.N.” by Isiah
Money Line: What happened to childhood dreams? / Now it’s minimum-wage manual labor. / Still stuck in that phone booth with metal bars, / and the state gave you a quarter, / but the phone lines are cut loose / and the repairmen aren’t going to come. / Yet still, instead of doing what needs to be done, / we decide to get deceived by what seems to be.

“Heartache’s Quest” by Eric
Money Line: Cupid’s bow can only shoot a message in a direction that inflicts infection / That can only be treated with a extended injection of time and rejection. 

The Best Of A New Batch

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We’ve recently added a ton of new student work to the Exclusive Ink online zine. Here’s a sampling of what our Shortridge writers have to say:

“Dreams” by Daniel
Money Line: We should take care of our dreams just like we take care of a newborn baby.

“Feet” by Isiah
Money Line: But every curve of our existence / Is represented on our feet. / I think I found the eighth wonder of the world, cause / That’s an amazing sight to see.

“Decide To Be Undecided” by Eric
Money Line: I love that your memory is just an invaluable knickknack and I am unable to find it . . . I love that you drown out your beauty with the melody of being self righteous.

“What Does Poetry Mean To Me?” by Brandon
Money Line: It is life, it is love, it is loyal to your heartfelt opinions . . . It’s the parent who sneaks into your room at night to kiss you goodnight when all is balmy.

“Wild Fire” by Vivian
Money Line: Enemies being gained like rain drops hitting the window. Backs being stabbed to make it feel like you didn’t have a spine at all.

“Tsunami” by Curtis
Money Line: A man kissing the sky in remembrance of a lost one. He’s a tsunami needing a city.

The Launch Party (A Photo Essay)

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The Exclusive Ink literary magazine release party on Thursday, April 26, kicked off with plenty of delicious food and refreshments. But this was just the icing on the cake…

Camaraderie has always been a big part of what makes Exclusive Ink tick. High-fives, fist-bumps, hugs, and smiles showed up in abundance during our big day, as they have throughout the school year…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After chowing down, it was time to pass out copies of Exclusive Ink to everyone in the group. I can’t tell you how excited we were to have a hand in publishing the Shortridge’s first lit mag since 1986. To be able to share the hard work of more than 30 talented students with the world was such an amazing feeling…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although our group is usually pretty expressive (or, you know, talkative, in non-academic terms), it was refreshing to observe the brief hush over the crowd, as our students read each other’s contributions to the magazine. Truth be told, it’s hard to put down a book that you’ve played a major part in creating…

Once the books were out, we opened the floor up for students to read their work, which is the way we always like to end our Exclusive Ink sessions. For the first time all year, Doug shared one of his own poems with the group, further solidifying his coolness…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for the SHS students to take center stage. Zuri got things started by reading “Those Girls,” the beautifully crafted poem that earned her first place in the Etheridge Knight Poetry Contest…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As she did at our end-of-the-semester party in December, Kila treated us with another reading this time around. Although we’ve been thrilled to see the influx of new writers during the past few months, it’s been wonderful to have leaders like Kila who have been around since the beginning…

Another one of our stalwarts, Eric, called up his latest creation from his cellular device. We’re all in awe of just how prolific Eric is. He probably has more poems on his smartphone than most teenagers have apps or photos of their pets…

Our biggest challenge for the day was probably fitting all of our Exclusive Ink students and volunteers into frame for a big group photo. But, as has been the case all year, the hard work paid off royally. I’m sure this snapshot will live on for a long time as a tribute to everyone who played a role in Exclusive Ink. I can’t imagine a better crew. You all are the best, and it showed every day we spent at Shortridge.

P.S. Much gratitude to Melissa for the awesome pics.

Exclusive Ink Student Wins Etheridge Knight Poetry Award

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We are so proud to announce that one of the members of our Exclusive Ink creative writing group, Zuri, has been named one of the winners of the 18th annual Etheridge Knight Poetry Contest. She will be honored during a special ceremony at Martindale Church of Christ on Saturday, April 14, and will also be recognized during the Etheridge Knight Festival Evening With The Legends at the Indiana Landmark Center on Thursday, April 19. For more information about the events, click here.

Here is Zuri’s award-winning submission:

Those Girls

We are the ones
that lie
in your beds, or to your faces.

We just want to fill
your spaces,

okay ours,
maybe
both?

We never meant to hurt you.
but heartbreak?

is inevitable,
and when
if ever tears fall,

we are not the ones
to call, that is,
we are the heart
ripping love stealing

smile and sleep with your boyfriend,
those girls—

we are the liars
the dark that was left
behind but keep in mind

someone made us
this way.
We were once you
but that was yesterday.

Update: Here is Zuri looking pleased with her plaque.

More Exclusive Ink Goodness

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Another week, another plethora of submissions to our Exclusive Ink blog from our Shortridge students. Thanks to the sustained strong support, we have more than 80 submissions to consider for our SHS literary journal print publication, which means that we are going to have a top-notch magazine on our hands when our pages hit the press.

Since we will be away from Shortridge for the next two weeks as IPS students enjoy their spring break, here are some more of our favorite recent submissions to Exclusive Ink:

“Those Girls” by Zuri

“I Have Seen…I Have Been Scared” by Daezy

“Blissful Beauty” by Eric

“Purgatory” by Jadon

“Bright Adolescent” by Isiah

 

Exclusive Ink Launches Online Magazine

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You may have noticed the slightly less frequent updates to the Writing In The Schools blog in recent weeks. This is due in large part to the launch of the Exclusive Ink online magazine, accessible at http://blogs.butler.edu/exclusiveink. Since the site went live at the end of February, and we introduced our Shortridge students to the submission process, we’ve received approximately 70 poems and short stories. The quantity and quality of the work has been astounding, and the time has come to share the fruits of our talented writers with a larger audience.

Please check the site regularly, as we’ve been processing and posting about 20 submissions per week on the new blog. In the coming weeks, we will start collecting the best submissions from the site to be published in our complementary Exclusive Ink print publication, which we hope to have out at the end of April.

Here are some of our favorite contributions so far:

“Bible Verse” by Isiah

“I Remember” by Alyssa

“Dropping Words, Educational Warfare” by Eric

“Painted Lies” by Paula

“Unstitching The Unseen” by Brandon

“My Grave” by Kat

Hungry Like The Wolf

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We had another outstanding Exclusive Ink session this afternoon, with our Shortridge students capturing animals with their words, as Ted Hughes does in his poem “The Thought Fox.” Beyond simply being mined for Money Lines, several of the poems screamed to be shared in their entirety as fantastic examples of the creative capabilities of the teenagers we’ve been working with.

The first is a prose poem about a wolf from one of our sophomores. Note: These eloquent and provocative turns of phrase are all his, without any intrusion from our tutors.

Demented creature, mind marks it in-depth with death. The innocent face engulfed in the canary eyes that leave an imprint in the darkness. Silence, then a barrage of growls preceding the departure of the departed. A forest radiating scarlet. A flash, then farewell pawprints in vision before being swept from the scene that never had dialogue, but demonstrated the circle of life. Violence, this hunter thought, can’t be compared to the shiniest trident. A thirst for hunger never quenched in the river’s silence. Tired of chasing meals, but finally trapped in tactics. An urge to disgorge prey, then emerge from a massacre of satisfaction.

The second is from one of our newest Exclusive Ink regulars, a seventh-grader (!). It’s hard to believe this poem about a mouse was inspired by the same prompt, but that’s the kind of diversity of talent we’re blessed with.

“EEEEEEEEEKKK!”
Mom shrieks.
She leaps through the air,
Ten feet back.
Heart attack.
“MOUSE! THERE’S A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!”

Little feet skitter across the floor.
Beady eyes look,
Searching for something more.
Harmless, it looks.
Well, at least to me.

Little mouse,
Caged in the wall.
Why won’t you set yourself free?
The air in here is suffocating.
The people are lazy and boring.

Yet when you come out,
Your eyes always
Search, search, search
What are you looking for,
Little mouse?

Why search my humble home,
Where the air is dry as a bone,
Where my mom hides lurking in the shadows,
Where my siblings hide poison beneath the sink?

Are you lonely, little mouse?
Are you scouting for a humble house,
A place to call home,
Where you no longer feel alone?
Why not out in the world, little mouse?

I feel so trapped in this house.
Walls, walls
Closing in.
Sometimes I feel like giving in
To the madness of being caged.

Little mouse, between my mittens,
Escape!
Be fr–
Oh no,
You were just eaten by a kitten.

Holiday Reading = Festive Success

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I feel strongly that the Exclusive Ink Holiday Party and Reading on Thursday was the culmination of everyone’s efforts throughout the semester, be it the Shortridge students in the literary group, young writers whose talents grew exponentially every week, or the members of the Butler community involved with the Writing In The Schools endeavor, who had the opportunity to witness a real sense of community and progress that they were instrumental in creating during our first few months.

For me, it was thoroughly moving to see everything come together in a such meaningful way. More than 20 students showed up for the festivities (by far our biggest after-school group turnout of the semester), and several used the occasion to introduce their friends and families to Exclusive Ink, which was a real treat for all the Butler tutors and volunteers in attendance. With a room full of people, we were fortunate enough to have a bountiful holiday spread (including ham, mac and cheese, and tons of other fixings and desserts) thanks to the generosity and culinary skills of our Butler volunteers. After eating and socializing, we passed out hand-selected presents (an assortment of young adults books) to every Shortridge student (even though we very nearly underestimated how many gifts we would need). Some of the reactions were truly priceless.

After we cleared away the wrapping paper, nearly a dozen Shortridge students stepped up to read their poems, short stories, and essays. Composed and confident, the students bowled us over with money line after money line. Two students even wrote poems specifically about what the Exclusive Ink Butler-Shortridge group means to them. As someone who played a part in establishing the group since the start of the semester, the poems were nothing short of touching, and I hope that including them in their entirety on the blog will give visitors a real sense of why we’re all so committed to the task at hand.

The first poem is from Marché:

Exclusive Ink, we’re talented and blessed.
Exclusive Ink, we’re prepared for any test from study in practice.
I wondered, “Are we prepared?” ’cause when we began mouths stopped and eyes stared.
I’m not being conceded, but I think we’re there.
I believe God prepared the stairs for us to climb to sucess.
So now we can take a deep breath.
Exclusive Ink, we got brains, style, the moves, and the smile.
We are the talk around town.

The second is from Kiyla, who is pictured above reading her poem:

It’s amazing how we started.
Some were friends, others associates.
College tutors starting something unique.
I’m not alone. No seriously, I’m not!
There are two other Kiylas [ed. note: Kila + Kyla, hence her nickname, “Combo Kiyla”].
Nobody here who doesn’t like to write.
Our superheroes finally let us free.
It’s kind of crazy, right?
No, it’s perfect. Unique.
We are the voices of Exclusive Ink.

In the coming days, expect to see more photos and even videos from our Holiday Party posted on the blog. It was just that awesome. Warm, fuzzy thanks to everyone involved.