The silence is deafening, there's no doubt about it
It surrounds us until we choke
There is much we should be doing
Searching
    Looking
        Finding
And yet no sound is heard, there is nothing to say
Not anymore, we think 

But then a voice speaks up 
Echoing through the silence
Together, it says, together we must stand
The voice refuses to believe what we believe to be true
That there is nothing that we can do

That there is no
searching for the truth
      Looking forward to the future
            Finding answers for ourselves and others
There is no more, we all state, nothing that we can do

But then the extraordinary happens
The voice speaks up again
Its whisper still loud when it states
There is something we can do
There is something we can do
There is something we can do
It repeats again and again like an unending mantra

Oh Snap! will be held the last Saturday night of each month through May! You must have a YWP account to participate. Sign up forms for your Zoom invitation will be on the site before each event. Signup is here.

Here are the upcoming dates; all events start at 7 PM EST:
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Saturday, April 24, 2021
Saturday, May 29, 2021

Poet Reuben Jackson and Teaching Artist Alex Muck invite you to Presence and Possibilities to write and share in a warm, joyful, online space. Join them TUESDAY, FEB. 2, 2021, 6:30-8 PM EST.

The January Book Pick is "Black is the Body" by Emily Bernard. YWP's charvermont, who selected this month's book, says, "Black is the Body is a memoir of essays about Emily Bernard's life. They are beautifully written and made me think a lot." Emily Bernard teaches at the University of Vermont. Stop in any time to THE YWP BOOK CLUB to discuss this book or any book – new discoveries and old favorites.

REUBEN JACKSON, poet, jazz archivist, and longtime mentor and friend of YWP, has joined the board of Young Writers Project! Reuben, a former host of VPR's Friday Night Jazz and a graduate of Goddard College, now lives in Washington, D.C. His most recent book of poetry, "Scattered Clouds," was published in 2019. In October 2019, Reuben was YWP's special guest at our celebration of the publication of Anthology 10. (Photo above). He will be leading an online poetry workshop for YWP in January! Watch the site for details.

Hi everyone! This week I spoke with TreePupWriter about her poem, "Cilantro Flowers," yoga, being young and having a simple life, writing about small things, and taking big meaning from picture books. Also, Yellow Sweater and I are hosting another Oh Snap! Online Open Mic on January 30th at 7pm EST. Sign up if you want to join us for a fun night of sharing and listening to poetry!
I hope you enjoy!
-Iris
 

Writers, ages 15-18, are invited to participate in the 6th annual "Tell Me A Story" contest by Narrative Magazine. Details:

• First place $500, second place $200, third $100. Plus publication on NarrativeMagazine.com.
• The prompt: Escape. Write a poem (10-50 lines) that takes your audience on an escape that only you can write—in your unique voice.
• Must be previously unpublished in print or online.
• Submit work through your English teacher on contest submission page
• Deadline: Feb. 4, 2021

MORE INFORMATION HERE
 

Black Voices of Vermont is a collaborative story-sharing project to amplify the stories of Black teenagers across the state. Kingdom County Productions, Centerpoint, and the Listen Up Project are seeking teens interested in sharing their experiences of being a Black person living in Vermont. Based on email questions, the interviews will be featured on various social media platforms during February, Black History Month, and beyond. If you're interested, contact director Shani Stoddard at [email protected].

Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home in Manchester, VT, invites Vermont 8th graders to enter the annual Lincoln Essay Competition by responding to this prompt: Choose one issue that you think demonstrates how our nation either is or is not honoring the ideal that all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Give three examples to support your position. Suggest one step that could either further strengthen our course or get our nation back on track and explain why this step would be effective.  

First place: $500; second place: $400; third place: $300; and up to four honorable mentions of $200 each.
Deadline: Feb. 26, 2021
Contest application: https://hildene.org/learning/lincoln_essay
Contact: Stephanie at [email protected]