Skidding around the room of our first Teen Writing Center meetings were the ideas of a dozen teens who love to write. Ideas to build a program upon. What kind of careers are out there for writers?What kind of course structure should I look for? What kind of college program, how do I prepare? I love to write, what can I do with that. What do writers do? I want more workshops.We would like a teen reading series. Maybe a writers retreat? What kind of organizations support writers in this community?
About that last one… Charlottesville is rich with opportunities for writers, and for young writers as well. Our resource page has a growing list!We want to add to that list.The Virginia Art of the Book Center, VABC, gave us a breathtaking opportunity to expose our young writers to letterpress printing in early October. Garrett Queen was the most beneficent mentor, designing a demonstration project that allowed our youth to create posters documenting the fonts and pica sizes of the majority of wooden type in the shop. These posters will be used by VABC members, and classes of students in the shop for years to come!
We thank Garrett Queen for developing this demonstration project for our teens. The experience they gained has enabled them to design their own posters, and provided a very real perspective on the history of printing, a “Gutenberg Press” style of printing, which few get to experience.