KIDSFAMILYry Neal Awards, the District Lines Poetry on Metro Competition, and theJunior League Teen Poetry Contest.”
The highlight for students in boththe in-school and after-school program
are the editions of hArtworks that is
published three times a year. Distributing over three hundred copies to classmates, teachers, parents, and othermembers of the community, hArtworks
is the nation’s only inner-city public
middle school literary magazine of its
kind. It is a professionally designed
magazine that boasts a sleek cover andcandid shots of the young writers
throughout the pages. The magazinecelebrates the expression of youth ingrades 6-8 and is edited by the youth aswell. To promote the magazine, students give readings throughout thecommunity and offer signed copies of
their work for sale to audience members.
“I was published in a book when I
went to Patterson Elementary; I’ve been
writing for a while,” says Angelo. Heshares that he likes to write about hissister, God and, of course, apples.
“My mom told me, ‘See what you
can do when you’re not being bad,’when I showed her the magazine withmy poem in it.”
DCCWW encourages youth to use
writing as a creative tool in all aspects ofHARTWORKS LITERARY MAGAZINE
Creatively expressing the voice of youth
BY KHADIJAH ALI-COLEMAN

ATHart Middle School, Ms. Carolyn Jackson’s 6thgrade developmental reading class perks up as
Ms. Ruby from the D.C. Creative Writing
Workshop asks what does love look like.
“It’s like an apple,” says 12 year-old Angelo Martin as
he sparks the class discussion of how love and an apple cancompare.
Angelo loves apples and has written about his love ofapples in his poem “In Praise of the Apple Tree”, published in the Winter 2005 edition of hArtworks, a literary magazine published by the D.C. Creative Writing
Workshop (DCCWW). Angelo, like the majority of his
developmental reading class, have become published poets while meeting weekly with Ms. Ruby —Ruby McCaan—and other DCCWW facilitators, learning different creative techniques.
“They get excited and motivated when they see themselves in print,” says Jackson. “It’s an esteem builder forthem.”Jackson, who has shared her reading students withDCCWW for the past five years, believes that the partnership between Hart Middle School and DCCWW is42 • EAST OF THE RIVER, FEBRUARY 2006

great and a highlight in many of the children’s lives. “[DCCWW] brings a new and fresh perspective of reading andwriting to the children and is very motivating. Overall, it’svery positive.”
The D.C. Creative Writing Workshop’s writers-inresidence, like McCaan, work with teachers in grades 412 to provide interactive writing instruction to students.
They encourage the students to keep a personal creative
writing portfolio to record his or her progress throughout
the year.
In addition to the in-school programs, DCCWW has
an after-school program are based at Hart that is open to
all students, ages 5-18, in the surrounding neighborhood.
Participants have the option of attending up to three daysa week of activities. Eighth-grader Sherrelle Barnes attends
after school. “I’m in the Creative Writing Workshop withMs. Nancy—it’s fun.” The after-school program, led by
DCCWW’s artistic director Nancy Schwalb, is a venue
for creative genius.
According to DCCWW’s website, “Since the Writing Club’s inception, Hart Middle School has developed
a city-wide reputation for artistic excellence, consistently
fielding winners in the Parkmont Poetry Contest, the Lar-their lives.
Ceshelle Evans, 11, admits that she doesn’t write thatoften when she is not in her DCCWW class, but she enjoys the poems that she has written while writing withher peers. She is especially proud of her appearance inhArtworks.
“When the magazine came out, I told everyone!,” shegushed.
Ceshelle’s poem “Air” shares a page with a photo ofthe DCCWW Executive Director, Jamila Wade and thepoems of two classmates.
“This class is fun. I write now when I have nothingelse to do,” says Angelo.

HOT OFF THE PRESSMay 2005 marked the debut of two new publications from DCCWW, Simon Says, a literary magazine featuring the works of students at Simon Elementary, and Voice of the Knight, a literary magazine
devoted to the writings from Ballou Senior High. For
more information about DC Creative Writing Workshop, contact Jamila Wade at 202.297.1957 or visit their website at www.dccww.org.