The Artist Bellows: Lincoln HS Edition

The Artist Bellows WITS Digital Chapbook 2013-2014 Lincoln High School Edition

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The Artist Bellows Lincoln High School Edition

The Artist Bellows 2013-2014 Online Chapbook Copyright 2013 Literary Arts, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be duplicated in any way—mechanical, photographic, electronic, or by means yet to be devised—without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of a brief excerpt or quotations for the purpose of review.

Literary Arts Staff Andrew Proctor Jenny Chu Lydah DeBin Susan Denning Megan Gex Jennifer Gurney Paige O’Rourke Mary Rechner Mel Wells

WITS Interns Jamie Carr Eric Jennings Will Aime

Board of Directors

Jessica Mozeico, Chair Betsy Amster Mike Barr Alice Cuprill-Comas Rebecca DeCesaro Amy Donohue Theo Downes-Le Guin Marie Eckert Robert Geddes Pamela Smith Hill Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm Amy Prosenjak John Raymond

James Reinhart Barry Sanders Jacqueline Willingham Thomas Wood Susheela Jayapal, Ex Officio John Meadows, Ex Officio Andrew Proctor, Ex Officio

Strunk & White Society

An honorary society of distinguished advisors Gwyneth Booth Bart Eberwein Brian Gard Diana Gerding Molly Gloss Carrie Hoops Ursula K. Le Guin Barry Lopez Julie Mancini Brenda Meltebeke Diane Ponti Michael Powell Halle Sadle Steven Taylor Steve Wynne

Chapbook Staff

Editors: Mel Wells and Will Aime Designer: Will Aime Writers in the Schools is a program of Literary Arts, a community-based nonprofit literary organization whose mission is to support writers, engage readers, and inspire the next generation with great literature. For more information, please contact: Literary Arts 925 SW Washington St. Portland, OR 97205 503.227.2583 www.literary-arts.org

Contents Writers in the Schools vi Support vii Introduction xi Random Renga 1

Collaboration Burnside 4

Alex McVey Rebel 5

Adeline Lefevre Knowing 6

Kiley Yuthas Fire Crackers 7

Hengyu Cui Faces in the Walls 8

Georgia Gustavson My Favorite Place in the World

Jocelyn Garcia

9

The Mysterious Ship at Sea

Molly Mastrorilli

10

No More Quarters for the Arcade

Phoebe Nguyen

11

Cloud Acrostic 13

Bailey Smith About Myself 14

Angeles Abril Unexplored Territory 15

Isabel Nattagh

Love and War 16

Preeta Hopwood Companion 17

Katherine Cobb Confession 18

Ruhika Prasad Regret 19

Allison Marcott A Reluctant Bride’s Reflection

Emma Siddall

20

Our Complex Being 21

Natalie George Should Have Been Aborted 22

Lauren Wilson Caged 23

Lauren Knox Vicious Cycle 24

Daniel Pinter Whirlpool 25

Alex Laub That Place 26

Magnolia Garcia The Pyramid of Nature-- A Letter to You

Lia Kashuba

27

The Eyes 28

Angelo Sampson Paper Towns 29

Grace Sullivan The Old Best Friend 30

Charles Liu

Mirror 32

Quinn Catkins Reflection

Iyla Ingalls

33

The Nature of Things 34

Kyle Corbett Untitled 35

Van Engstrom Stars 36

Clemen Dang The Universe and Myself 37

Kate Richardson Space Race 38

Brian Young Letter for my Grandfather 39

Lorna Perez Writers in the Schools 40

Writers in the Schools Writers-In-Residence

Carl Adamshick, Lorraine Bahr, Alex Behr, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Serena Crawford, Lisa Eisenberg, Casey Fuller, James Gendron, Jonathan Hill, John Isaacson, Apricot Anderson Irving, Ramiza Koya, Kathleen Lane, Timothy S. Lane, Amy Minato, Lee Montgomery, Mark Pomeroy, Melissa Reeser Poulin, Carter Sickels, Desmond Spann, Cindy Williams GutiĂŠrrez, Matt Zrebski

Visiting Authors

Salman Rushdie, MothSHOP, Lawrence Wright, Julia Alvarez

Participating Teachers

Amy Ambrosio, Ilsa Bruer, Stephanie D’Cruz, Mykhiel Deych, Daniel Fredgant, Katie Grone, Vanessa Hughes, Cindy Irby, Glen Jacobs, Tom Kane, Stephen Lambert, Dylan Leeman, Eric Levine, Rodney Maack, Karen Margolis, Jennifer Newton, Evan Price, Steve Naganuma, Mary Rodeback, Linda Singingbird-Grant, Kris Spurlock, Norman Stremming, Amy Taramasso, Catherine Theriault, Dana Vinger, Ellen Whatmore, Elisa Wong, Tracey Wyatt, James Zartler

Participating Principals

Petra Callin, Carol Campbell, Peyton Chapman, Brian Chatard, Paul Cook, Shay James, Charlene Williams, Curtis Wilson

District Liason Melissa Goff

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Support The following individuals, buisnesses and foundations made Writers in the Schools a success in 2013-2014:

$1000+ AHA! Alling Henning Associates, Inc Autzen Foundation Bank of America Mike R. Barr The Bloomfield Family FoundationBluehour The Boeing Company Boora Architects vii

Broadway Books The Collins Foundation Multnomah County Cultural Coalition Ann & Ron Emmerson Et Fille Wines First Tech Federal Credit Union Bob Geddes Philip S. Harper Foundation Irwin Foundation Susheela Jayapal Juan Young Trust Kinder Morgan Foundation Knowledge Universe Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm & Kevin Kohnstamm Jessica Mozeico The Nara Fund NW Natural Jan & Steve Oliva PGE Foundation Amy Prosenjak & Steven Guy Robert D. and Marcia H. Randall Charitable Trust Oregon Arts Commission Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation Bob Speltz The Standard Sterling Bank Herbert A. Templeton Foundation U.S. Bancorp Foundation Dan Wieden & Priscilla Bernard Wieden Willamette Week Tom & Marcia Wood

Gwyneth Gamble Booth Tom Booth & Megan Holden Paul & Shelly Buchanan Steve & Peg Busick Jan Christensen Rick Comandich & Maya Muir Betsy Cramer & Greg Kubicek Marian & Neale Creamer Michael E. Davalt Jodi Delahunt Hubbell & Todd Hubbell Paul & Francesca Duden Myron D. Filene Diana Gerding Pat & Kelley Harrington Susan Hathaway-Marxer & Larry Marxer Tom & Betsy Henning Jane Jacobsen Phillip M. Margolin Pete McDowell Pete McDowell John Meadows Susan Mersereau Lora & Jim Meyer Deidra Miner Steven C. Neighorn Nancy Phillips Nancy & Mike Phillips Diane Ponti & Ward Greene Robin Roberts & John L Backes Lori Singer Shirley Skidmore Kaarin & Van Smith Donald & Roslyn Sutherland Dan & Lisa Trisler Kristi Wallace Knight & Eric Wallace Candace Young

$250+ Carole Alexander Seth Alley Lisa Baker Lina Beth Barber Robert Bentley

100+ Sam Adams Donald Andersen Sally & John Anderson viii

Bill Bagnall & Clayton Lloyd Tom & Molly Bartlett Kim & Rosie Batcheller Kathleen & Scott Bauska Naomi & John Bishop Mary Bodie & Tom Beaver Julie K. Bolt Sharon Brenner Valerie & Eric Bressman Evie Brim Karyle Butcher Ellyn Bye Brent & Barbara Chalmers Janet R. & Edgar E. Clark Liana Colombo Mary Louise Cook David & Denise Corey Becky Denham, M.D. Susan & Joseph Denman Nathan & Eva Douthit Justin Dune & Carol Sanders Penny & Ken Durant Tina Edlund & Sydney Edlund-Jermain Steven Burns Karen Ellmers Margaret B. Evenson Pamela & Tim Fleischmann Cheryl Hollatz-Wisely & Kate Gray Kathy Immerman Brita Johnson & Allen Poole Karen & Dennis Johnson Dianne & Alan Johnson Laura Jones & David Livermore Morley & Jim Knoll Robert & Susan Leeb Priscilla Wold Longfield Kathryn Madison & Jeffrey Wertz Deborah Mandell & Roy Pulvers Jennifer W. Mark Robert Matheson Brad & Julie McMurchie Anne Mendel & Mark Henry Dr. Elizabeth & Dr. Brock Metcalf

Ruth & Arnold Metz Ronald Mitchell & Amy Reiss Marjory Morford Douglas & Candace Morgan Mona Mozeico Joanne Nehler Emma Oliver Irja Orav Nancy Orr Karen & Marvin Pemberton David Pollock Nancy Ponzi Andrew & Veronica Proctor Bonnie & Peter Reagan Mary Rechner & Barry Sims Ruth Roth Robert Scanlan Rosalie Schenck Manya Shapiro Marjorie M. Smith Carole Smith Patricia & Marvin Straughan Catherine Theriault & Daniel Weston Carla Van Hoomissen Stephanie Volkman Joella Werlin Clif & Patty White Dara Wilk Grito Press Jacqueline Willingham Deborah Wood Morton & Audrey Zalutsky And many more generous donors

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Introduction Dear Reader, Grit has become a widely acknowledged indicator for student success, and no wonder. People who commit to a goal and work hard over time often realize their dreams. At Writers in the Schools (WITS), the local professional writers we hire embody perseverance while teaching public high students to write, revise, edit, publish, and perform their own creative writing.

WITS writers are exemplars, showing students how practicing a craft, along with being creative, curious, persistent, and resilient, can lead to success that may not easy or quick, but is lasting, satisfying, and sustaining.

During the 2013-2014 school year 1,074 public high school students participated in semesterlong residencies uniquely designed to support, deepen, and extend existing curriculum. WITS programming reinforces the real world importance of reading and writing in all professions and is designed to meet state and national standards for the arts and language arts.

Opportunity is another important indicator for student success, and WITS is committed to providing inspiring, world-expanding literary experiences for youth throughout Multnomah County. Last year 2,534 students participated in projects such as Students to the Schnitz, Verselandia! and our College Essay Mentoring Project. To learn more about these projects, go to: www.literary-arts.org/what-we-do/wits-home/.

We hope you enjoy reading The Artist Bellows, our newest online chapbooks of student work at http://issuu.com/literary-arts/stacks. For their help in making these books, we’d like to thank our WITS interns Will Aime, a student at Lewis & Clark College, and Reed College graduate, Rebekah Volinsky. Our online chapbook is designed by Will Aime; thank you!

A vast cadre of writers, teachers, librarians, principals, interns, volunteers, and community supporters makes our work with youth successful. If you would like to contribute to our efforts, please visit www.literary-arts.org/donate.

Mary Rechner Mel Wells Writers in the Schools Program Director Anthology Editor & Program Coordinator

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Random Renga Collaboration Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Winter is passing White bones pose as bamboo stems Frost clings to tree bark A winking of wind in gray The glare of eternity Snow wilts the once red Sharp wind blows through the bamboo The lake’s thin ice sheet Snaps and cracks disturb the peace The lake stretches awake Oars row against wind The current holds the men back from lives left below The parallel universe supports the fisherman’s boat Gold light turns to pink in the light crisp mountain air Red blossoms flourish A line of birds cuts the sky Some ride the liquid mirror Sprinkle us with joy Bright pollen crowns our noses Hungrily inhale The sky rains fluted petals on the heads of those below Corona of light Young skies dazzle the day Step into the sun 1

Collaboration There are petals in the air This blue haze swallows the world Fun comes in seasons Summertime records our growth The cicadas hum Fireflies light up our night This fleeting summer will pass The mountains reach up with giant clasping clawed hands Towers to heaven Cutting deeper and deeper rivers are what define us Fading dark to light the shadows come to life now wrapped in autumn hues Seasons changing quickly Blue sky, red leaves, clear mind The soft mist whispers and gently brushes treetops A clear-white paintbrush The artist at work bellows A cry echoes through the hills Darkness falls too soon A faint crescent moon glows dim The deer hides alone A battle cry of hawks A small corpse falls like arrows The air in winter huddles on the broken axe Unrelenting trees Nighttime air is like winter Cold unrelenting darkness 2

Collaboration Blossoms red and pink Color in the mountain shade Birds welcome the spring Sharp beaks savor the sweet seeds Duty to newborn flowers

3

Burnside Alex McVey Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez It bisects the river and splits the town, from rolling hills to the bright lights of the city, to the quiet life of the suburbs, passing forests and parks, while leading on to hectic restaurants and towering skyscrapers, the busy and chaotic life of traffic, pedestrians, more traffic competing to get through, but also the calmness while passing a bookstore with ancient tales and new stories, while finding its core at a bridge over flowing water— it is Burnside, the fiery street of Portland.

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Rebel Adeline Lefevre Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez

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Knowing Kiley Yuthas Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez The trees know of the human experience they have watched it for many lifetimes yet I a cog in this machine of human-ness cannot fathom all its parts The trees know to accept the world its meanness its serenity as fact yet I try to make sense try to make concrete the sting of rejection the pain of life lost the wild unpredictability of human action The trees know why I ask questions but still urge me to nap in the sun and take root in my profound aloneness

6

Fire Crackers Hengyu Cui Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya

I remember the first time I set off firework on Chinese New Year. It was very exciting.

Looking at all the “flower” blow up in the sky, I felt I wanted to do it again.

The next day, I played with some leftover fire crackers with my cousin. There were a lot of different kinds, some of them like fire fountains, some that were very long that can keep popping for minutes, but what I liked the most was crackers that were very powerful. We used it to blow up the hard cold ground and snow, and sometimes we use more than one in the same time, and I remember that was the first time I got in trouble.

When my cousin put the cracker on a trash can and put a rock on top of it, I though it would be fine, so I fired it up, and when I looked back, my cousin and all his friends were running away. I didn’t know what happened, so I just ran with them. When I heard the blow, I looked back, I saw there was a big hole on top of the trash can. I guess my cousin knew it was going to be this bad and that was exactly what they wanted to see. At that time, I know I would got in trouble because of him, so I kept running. At that time, an old man upstairs yelled at us from the window, said something about he is coming to get us, but he never did because he didn’t see us in the face, and had no idea who we were.

If I could, I would give up everything to go back to that year, being happy and nothing to worry about.

7

Faces in the Walls Georgia Gustavson Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Rolling and reeling One recedes into the abyss of their eyes, Retinal seas, Shrouded woods of dragon green holly red and Cerebral, hot, empty white, mirroring a Hot place in my head, under the smile, disguised And coming out and crawling into the screen, the skin Crying, creaking, weeping whispers that I did not find the way, How instead, upon entering, the way found me.

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My Favorite Place in the World Jocelyn Garcia Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya

I close my eyes and I can feel it coming, the dream that I have been waiting for… I close my eyes tightly so it doesn’t go away. In a moment, I fly to my favorite place in the world – my hometown, San Martin Lachila, Ejutla Oaxaca, Mexico. The street address, Hidalgo # 19, is the best place in the entire world, the place where I can feel free. There are a lot of things I have done on that street, memories that I will never forget. Everything I see is peaceful and quiet, and I know every person. There are no strangers here.

When I’m sad or depressed the only way to forget all my problems is to remember that place that immediately transports to me to the world of my childhood. A flood of memories rushes through me, and my problems disappear.

To have the people that I love next to my house is the thing that I want the most. The thought of my family members and friends makes me happy every time I remember each place…

“Las huellas que he dejado”…

The taste and smell of the air is the best around the world, and taste of “la tierra pura” makes me want to eat it, and to feel the sand on my bare feet is an emotion that I can’t explain. I wake up every morning and smell the best food ever, and I know that my mom is cooking tortillas.

This is the place where I know that I’m safe, that nothing will happen to me, I don’t have to worry, and I don’t have to have tears in my eyes because I live far away from the place that I love.

It’s a beautiful day in a peaceful field in the countryside. I can feel the tranquility in my heart and in my mind, like one moment of peace. All my worries are gone just because I’m here in this beautiful place. All around me, I see a place without pain and sadness. The sunlight touching my face is like feeling alive. Feeling my heartbeats of happiness, I can’t find the reason why, but I just smile.

I lift my head to see the roses, grass, and trees next to me. I wish this could continue forever, but within seconds everything changes when a big storm arrives suddenly. I did not expect it. All the beautiful things and feelings that I just had are disappearing, as if everything were becoming white. I’m confused and scared, like if I awaken from this dream I would never return.

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The Mysterious Ship at Sea Molly Mastrorilli Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez The sky is clear with white clouds while the sea is dark and stormy.

The ship far in the distance looks for a way back home.

Soon these white clouds will disappear, replaced by inky black ones.

The ship may be surrounded, then pulled under by the sea.

If that happens, when that happens, waves will envelop the ship.

People on deck may try to swim; yet, they will be damned to death by the sea.

Someday, some may find that ship under the sea, surrounded by sand and fish.

They will live in the dark about what happened to all those bodies rotting away on the ocean floor.

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No More Quarters for the Arcade Phoebe Nguyen Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Matthew Zrebski CHARACTERS JOHNNY, high school age, restricted, angry TIME Present PLACE Rural, house (An open room lit by candles is only furnished with a chair and a table. JOHNNY is sitting on the table.)

JOHNNY Jesus, it’s midnight, where have you been? Ugh, no point in even asking anymore, just sit down, you look like hell. I gotta talk to you about some stuff. Look at me when I’m talking to you! God, it’s about the kids. For Christ sake everything is happening so fast and since you are always out drinking… I have to take care of the kids by myself. I’m supposed to be their cool big brother, the one they run to when they want a cookie, not their big brother who makes them go to bed when they don’t wanna. I haven’t had time for myself, even to focus on school so I had to drop out of Jackson. You probably didn’t even know that… and now I’m here trying to balance home schooling myself and taking care of the kids. It’s so hard and frustrating because they are a handful and you’re never around to help! Jenny isn’t even potty trained and is constantly going in her bed, maybe I’m not feeding her right because her crap is not the right consistency and James… ugh he won’t ever listen to me and refuses to put clothes on so he is just running naked around the house, free as a damn horse! And feeding and making food for them, do not get me started on that, I have to squeeze their mouths, just like this to get them to chew. I swear they are going to be alcoholics just like you so they never have to chew. Lord, you are like my 7th child, I always have to care for you when you come home wasted, which is all the damn time. You don’t even go to work now and I can’t go to work because I’m caring for seven children and it took all of this to make me understand the hell mom went through. You were better when she was still around, you were my dad, not my son. She would never want to see you like this or any of us the way we are now… I guess now’s a good time to show you a letter we got from the county today. Look here, we haven’t paid our bills and we owe five grand, five grand and we barely have enough for groceries! If we don’t pay, they will kick us out and child services will take the kids away and separate them. I’m just so pissed at you, I want to go over and just ughhh strangle you! But then I’d be all alone... But I can’t stay in this house, this town, this state for the rest of my life! I’m at the age where school should be all I focus on so I can leave to go to college and start my own life. You have to stop acting this way, now! The drinking and late nights worry me sick. What if you never come home, what if you… died? You 11

Phoebe Nguyen selfish bastard! We all are going through the same thing right now. There’s no excuse for you to be doing whatever the hell you want to while I’m stuck here doing all the shit you should be doing! You know, I bet she’s looking down on you now, so disappointed and sad she can’t help, but also pissed ‘cause you aren’t doing anything. If it makes you feel any better, she knows you can change. You can’t honestly tell me you want the kids to be taken away. If you keep this shit up, they will leave me and you. You can’t let this happen, you just can’t. Dammit, Dad, stop this, all of this... please.

We need you now more than ever.

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Cloud Acrostic Bailey Smith Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Bright clouds behind blue paper, Red sunset fades at dusk.

Each cloud unique And special in its own way— Kind of like a new beginning.

They parade through the sky, Have a presence all their own.

Round puffs shield the sun, Omit light from the earth Until they clear away and Give their space to a perfect blue.

Heaven is their home.

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About Myself Angeles Abril Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya

What I like about myself is that I’m 100% Mexican and I’m proud about it. I’m not just proud to be Mexican, it’s also that my life has shown me to be a real Mexican. From when I was born until I was five years, old I had to go with my sisters to the hills to take care of the animals.

We had to start school, then do our homework and then go to take care of the animals; that was our daily routine every day. I learned to cook and clean my house, on my own without anybody telling me to do it. At the time I was a little bit poor but I didn’t care because I only cared about and still only about my family. If someone asked me where I come from, I would say proudly that I come from San Martin Lachila Ejutla, Oaxaca. If people ask me what I learned there, I would say the truth of what I learned in my favorite town. I learned in Oaxaca to be a decent girl, to cook delicious Mexican food at a young age, and other things that make me see the world differently from the way other people see the world. I care about my family, because that is the only thing that can make you happy with the ones that care about you, are your friends that loved you like no one else. I love to be Mexican and if someone asked me if I wish to be something else I would say no because I want to be me, not a fake person.

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Unexplored Territory Isabel Nattagh Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez You do not have to speak.

You only have to be silent.

Hear the soft coos of the birds.

Do you too cry out in loneliness?

Watch the moon.

Appreciate the light that surrounds you.

Watch the trees sway in the wind.

Reach out and try to touch the other side.

Call out to me Or I’ll call out to you.

I am also alone.

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Love and War Preeta Hopwood Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Tousled hair and rumpled bedding, Lips pressed against another’s, Legs tangle, bare and sensual.

His arms circle a body with passion.

Her fingers splay wide on his back.

Hair flying and heated air, Lips spew poison.

Legs stand, imposing, unyielding.

His arms cross in defiance.

Her fingers clench at her sides.

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Companion Katherine Cobb Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Between her two fingers rests a cigarette

A second-hand skirt, long and green bunches around her hips— too big for her small frame

Half gone— its ashes on the wind

A low-cut white blouse falls off her shoulders like a curtain

Eyes spill sadness, eyes grown cynical

A brown jacket stretched and wrinkled from years of use worn by some man before her

Eyes view the world like smoke: distant, vanishing…

Only her and cigarette

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Confession - inspired by “Bird Trap,” by Frank Boyden Ruhika Prasad Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez

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Regret Allison Marcott Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez You turn back and look at what you did or what you didn’t do and your muscles tighten; the looming shadow swallows you whole.

It clings to you with its tightened grip.

You either learn to play the game or refuse to let it change you.

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A Reluctant Bride’s Reflection Emma Siddall Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez On the eve of her wedding the bride-to-be searches for a reason why.

In the mirror, her face looks older— at the age to settle down.

But she still feels like a child— lost and tired and alone— after a day of playing dress-up and pretending to be someone else.

On the eve of her wedding the bride-to-be searches for a reason why not.

The dress is too big, too grandiose.

Her mom says she looks like a princess.

But she doesn’t believe in fairy tales.

Long gone are the days of princes, dragons, and knights in shining armor.

It’s time for her to grow up.

Besides, she never did look good in white.

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Our Complex Being Natalie George Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez what lies beneath the surface? layer by layer what are we left with? the fabrication of our being

it is our design

disguised by skin when our covering deteriorates left with the structure the framework that makes us human

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Should Have Been Aborted Lauren Wilson Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Matt Zrebski CHARACTERS LAUREN, teenage girl, emotional, sarcastic, monotone TIME Now PLACE In the car LAUREN

I am a very emotionally sensitive person. If you yell at me, I will probably cry for at least four hours. So, my most recent breakup with a boy I was with for a year and a half was pure hell.

I kept sobbing for hours, and I’d sob so hard that I would puke almost all day long. It wasn’t fun.

My breakup happened in the middle of summer, so my brother was home from college in the midst of my sadness, and he wanted to go to the Nike Employee Store. So we went with my mom so she could pay for everything, and we went on a day that I was feeling alright. I mean, I hadn’t puked in fourteen hours or so. But in the car on the way to the Employee Store, my brother’s driving made me feel really dizzy and uneasy. I told Brandon, “I don’t… really… feel gooood…,” and he said, “You are not puking in this fucking car.” My mom went into super Jersey mom mode and handed me a grocery bag while loudly saying, “Brandon, stop swearing.” My vision was going in and out and everything was really blurry and my hands were shaking and all I could hear was my brother saying, “Lauren, I swear if you puke while I am driving this goddamn – Oh god. Jesus Christ.” I started puking into the bag, but it broke and the puke spilled into my lap. “You see what happens when you don’t use a condom, mom?” my brother was yelling. My mom was saying stuff like “Brandon, be nice to your sister” and “Do you want some soap in your mouth?” The puke spilling in my lap got me more nauseated, so here we went again. “Jesus – DON’T ROLL UP YOUR FUCKING WINDOW.” “But the wind is making me blerghhjkfahhh.” “You should’ve been aborted.” My mom in the backseat kept handing me tissues and was trying to comfort my sobbing sick self while yelling “Brandon” repeatedly in an angry New Jersey accent and scowling at him. I felt beyond awful for not being able to control my puke. When we finally got to the Employee Store, we cleaned the puke up and threw it away. Of course, my mom had to use the trashcan that was half a mile away from the car. And then she asks where my ID is to get into the Employee Store, and I burst into tears because I forgot it. My brother walks away just repeating to himself out loud, “Nope. Nope. Nope.” Then I knew that I’m just a walking disaster. At least I didn’t smell like puke THAT much.

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Caged Lauren Knox Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez A figure sits staring at us: his audience far too big for his small wicker chair.

Dark black lines run down his face.

He is contorted, trapped by different perspectives against a flat note of bright butter yellow.

His face is dissected.

His features are marred and mutated.

His eyes, an ear, a nose, a mouth, a soft patch of feathery black hair peek out from a jumble of features and a mat of skin, flush pink.

He is ugly to some, beautiful to others.

He is utterly inhuman, yet he is all too familiar, and far too captivating.

We sit in his same wicker chair.

Black lines run down our faces.

We are ugly to some.

We are beautiful to others.

We, too, are caged.

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Vicious Cycle Daniel Pinter Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Perplexing bullets enter alone, Energetically raining down, And yet not enough to Contain the demons inside from Eternally repeating.

No amount of money will Ever stop the battle from Ending: it rages on. We are forever Doomed to hear gunshots Echoing in the deepest Dark

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Whirlpool Alex Laub Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Winter winds bite at the tide, Hearts pounding, aching to keep us warm.

Ignited by the rush of blood to the head, Raging crystals fret against our scalps and around our arms.

Lost beyond the shore, Pleading and begging that Our only hopes don’t become Old memories Lost below the swirling tidal wave.

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That Place Magnolia Garcia Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya

At the top of a hill, where my mind can be without humanity. Breathing the sweet smells of the flowers, trees, and hear the beautiful sound of the birds singing. This is one of the places on the world I love to be – to be alone and think a lot, asking myself, what is my mission in this world?

Who am I, really? Is someone special waiting for me? Is someone else feeling the same thing that I’m feeling right now? What else is waiting for me? Sadness, happiness, or death? What is after death? Will I find someone who really loves me the way I am and care about me? And there are other questions that one day I might know the answers to, or maybe never. The only thing I can do is enjoy every second of my life because that second will never happen again. Yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.

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The Pyramid of Nature – A Letter to You Angelo Sampson Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez There is a certain way to things.

I have my place; you have yours.

The ripple you cause may upset many but not only in the way you know.

I too impact the world— not you perhaps, but some smaller than you and larger than myself.

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The Eyes Angelo Sampson Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Focus.

Look through the heavens— straight at the gods.

Blur.

Look down at the ground, you will smell your own stink.

They are waiting, watching every move.

Will you succeed?

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Paper Towns Grace Sullivan Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Paper promises are rarely kept And clean-cut lawns conceal the truth.

Plastic houses always look the same: Every night they lay silent as Reality is twisted and hidden away.

Tormented, we tell lies to friends; Overwrought responses barely conceal pain.

Whispers in the night echo loneliness and Never hold the answers to questions of the heart.

Soaring with the muted dawn, we release them.

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The Old Best Friend Charles Liu Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya Stranger: (A voice sounded) A cun time as a cun gold, but a cun gold can not buy a cun time.

Treasure your time, kid.

Me: Ah? who’s there? What did you said? A cun? What do you mean by that? Wait… Oh my gosh… It’s 1:00 o’clock! It’s after midnight! I’m gonna go back to sleep.

Stranger: (A voice sounded again)A cun is about three inches long. It is an ancient unit of Chinese measurement.

Me: Okay. Whatever you say, bro… I’m gonna sleep now. Let’s talk about this tomorrow morning.

Stranger: My voice will never disappear until you give me feedback for my sentence.

Me: Okay… Okay… That was an old saying, man. Now do you feel better?

Stranger: A little bit…

Me: Hmmm… Did you treasure your time when you were a child? (I was being sarcastic with him, the person who broke my sweet dream.)

Stranger: I didn’t, I felt regret, and I see now that you are wasting your time, so I came to remind you to treasure your time.

Me: Wait what? What do you mean by that, Stranger? Am I not living a good life? Also, how are you going to remind me of that even though you didn’t treasure your time? Watch your language, Little Stranger.

Stranger: Well, well, well. A person who always fighting, smoking, getting F’s in school, never going home before 10 o’clock, always arguing with your parents and teachers although they just try to make you a better person. Now you tell me, how good can a person like that be?

Me: Oh…Okay…but, how do you know anything about my childhood? Who are you?

Stranger: I’m your father, son.

Me: Shut up! You are liar! My father has been living in America for three years, and you and I are in China!

Stranger: Haha, I was joking, I’m your mom.

Me: Stop fooling around, my parents both moved to America.

Stranger: Okay, the game was fun, but now let me tell you the truth: I’m your uncle!

Me: I tired of this stupid game, Stranger. My uncle died last year. I think it’s time to back to sleep now.

Stranger: Haha, kid, you are smarter than I thought.

Me: No, it’s just that your trick is so stupid and easy to figure out.

Stranger: No matter. Just treasure your time.

Me: Okay, okay, but stranger who hell are you? Why should I listen to you lecture? Because you are so amazing that you are annoying me at 1:00 o’clock at midnight, or some other reason?

Stranger: It doesn’t matter who I am. Just listen to my recommendation.

Me: You are a weird guy… (I think I recognized who the stranger is – an old crazy guy that he likes annoying people at 1:00 o’clock after midnight.)

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Charles Liu

Stranger: You are already fifteen, how much knowledge you have now? Can you get all A’s in school? Can you get a job at a company? Can you get paid a lot for some special ability that you own?

Me: Well…Ehhh…that’s good question… I supposed…

Stranger: Answer my question!

Me: I …I… I can’t…

Stranger: This is what I am talking about. As the old saying said. Endless opportunities for making money. But, no matter how much money you have, you still cannot buy any time although you have a golden mountain, you still cannot buy a minute, you still cannot buy a minute that you wasted in your childhood. So, please be treasuring your time and working hard now.

Me: Ehnnnn… I think…. think I understand. Thank you for mentioning this to me. Your words are fact. I think I should change now. No one wants to become trash in the future. By the way, Stranger, would you let me know who you really are? Please?

Stranger: I am yourself. I am the symbol of kindness, justice, honest, friendliness, and struggling. For some reason, we got lost when we were really young. But, we seem to be getting back now.

I hope this conversation tonight allows you to learn something that can really help you. Okay, have a good night.

(And the voice disappeared, but, I don’t want to go back to sleep anymore.)

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Mirror Quinn Catkins Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez A face full of teeth: the feral sibling smiles, tongue lolling.

The wild mane dancing.

Eyeing myself, now I see.

Now I see, eyeing myself: the wild mane dancing, smiles, tongue lolling.

The feral sibling?

A face full of teeth.

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Reflection Iyla Ingalls Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez In the eyes of the wild beasts, I am the predator.

Sweat, blood, clouds my vision and paints a picture on the wall: two sets of eyes, a hunchback with a twisted mouth, deformed.

I hide.

I hide, deformed, with a twisted mouth, a hunchback, two sets of eyes.

On the wall, a picture clouds my vision and paints sweat, blood.

I am the predator in the eyes of the wild beasts.

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The Nature of Things Kyle Corbett Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Is all that is left a simple piece of clothing, lying on a shelf, in remembrance of what was?

Taken away by ones who didn’t belong.

Their land, stolen.

The people, the native creatures, hunted to near extinction hiding away in what is left.

Nature is cruel and chaotic: Death lies everywhere and the circle of life continues.

The circle of life continues and Death lies everywhere.

Nature is cruel and chaotic, hiding away in what is left. hunted to near extinction.

The native creatures— the people. their land, stolen, taken away by ones who didn’t belong.

In remembrance of what was: lying on a shelf, a simple piece of clothing is all that is left.

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Untitled Van Engstrom Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez

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Stars Clemen Deng Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Each of you lasting billions of years, burning faster and faster until total destruction, ejecting chunks of new elements and organisms which slowly grow into us.

We are stardust.

Fiery chaos, charred doom, implosions, explosions, and life, light, and summer.

You are paradox, contrast.

And yet so reliable, shining overhead every day, providing warmth, energy, hope.

So now here we are, born from your death, sustained by your breath.

We should not worship Gods, no.

You are the real creators.

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The Universe and Myself Kate Richardson Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez As I sit at dusk my fishing pole flings the moon into the sky the lights mute purple encompassing the world in darkness I stay awake contemplating the universe and myself and how we fit together I yawn releasing the sun into the sky

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Space Race Brian Young Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Cindy Williams Gutierrez Oh god, they’re back.

Shields down. What was that?

Probably just a sensor glitch.

Call nearby vessels.

It’s not working— Engage hyperspace.

Mainframe is critical!

Vitals down —Flash— Help me fix life support.

We’ll be fine as long as you just don’t say this twice.

Just don’t say this twice: we’ll be fine as long as you help me fix life support.

—Flash— Vitals down, Mainframe is critical!

Engage hyperspace.

It’s not working— call nearby vessels!

Probably just a sensor glitch.

Shields down—what was that?

Oh god, they’re back!

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Letter for my Grandfather Lorna Perez Lincoln High School WITS Writer: Ramiza Koya Hi grandfather!

It’s me Lorna. Do you remember me? I miss you so much. You went too fast, in the blink of an eye.

I still love and remember you, you know. I’m growing very fast, but I still have this childhood that you left me. I am now trying to archieve goals that I promised you, like learn English and study very hard. I promise you I will finish high school and go to college, like you wanted.

I’m living in Portland with my aunt. She is very fun, and I love her very much. My life in Portland is beautiful. I met many people from different countries of the world. I love living here, but it’s a little hard, because I have been learning English for only eight months, but I know in the future I will speak English very well. I might even take French next year. Grandfather, at my school, I’m the only girl who is at level 1 in the ESL program and I have a teacher who is like you.

You know, I miss you so much. I want to turn back time because I want to laugh, play, jump, run, and do everything like we used to. Never forget that. I love you so so so so much.

I love you grandfather!

Lorna

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Writers in the Schools Carl Adamshick is a poet who recently won the Walt Whitman Award and the Oregon Book Award for his collection of poems, Curses and Wishes.

Lorraine Bahr is an award-winning actress, playwright, and director. She teaches Acting at Portland State University, Washington and Oregon high schools, and at Young Musicians & Artists; she is co-founder and Associate Artistic Director of Sowelu Ensemble Theater in Portland.

Lorraine is also a regular performer for Portland Playhouse. Her produced plays include Life Alone, Bottomless, Count Time, Charlie Stone, and Live Nude Fear. Her monologue, “Eight Break-ups” has been published in Poetry Northwest.

Alex Behr is a writer, editor, and musician. After receiving an MFA in creative writing from Portland State, she taught creative and technical writing at Saturday Academy, Portland State, and Chemeketa Community College. She dredged up embarrassing sections of her teenage diaries for the comedy show Mortified, performing in various U.S. cities. Her short stories, interviews, and essays have appeared in Oregon Humanities, Utne Reader, Tin House, The Rumpus, Lumina, NPR.org, Boneshaker, and Propeller Quarterly. Alex has had a long career in educational publishing. Recently, she ghostwrote numerous adventures, romances, and ghost stories for struggling readers.

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand is the author of eleven books for children and young adults. Three of her biographies have received Pura Belpré Author Honor Awards.

She teaches writing at Wordstock, Writers in the Schools, and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts MFA program. In 2008, the Oregon Library Association’s Children’s Division gave her the Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award for her significant contributions to the children of Oregon in the field of children’s literature. Bernier-Grand grew up in Puerto Rico, but now lives with her husband and bilingual dog in Portland, Oregon.

Serena Crawford’s fiction has appeared in Epoch, Other Voices, Ascent, Another Chicago Magazine, The Greensboro Review, Nimrod, Hawaii Review, Sonora Review, The Florida Review, and elsewhere. The recipient of fellowships from Literary Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, she holds an MFA from the University of Oregon, where she also taught creative writing.

Lisa Eisenberg is a cartoonist and illustrator. Her comics have appeared in the anthologies Papercutter, So…Buttons, Bearfight!, Digestate, Runner Runner, and The Strumpet. Since 2008 she has selfpublished the series I Cut My Hair, a collection of fiction and nonfiction comics. She is a teaching artist with Young Audiences and a Comics Certificate Program Advisor at the Independent Publishing Resource Center. Lisa has also taught comics classes at Open Meadow Middle School, Stumptown Comics Fest, and Caldera. She is currently at work on a graphic novel.

Casey Fuller has worked as an auto detailer, burrito roller, fruit vendor, note taker, office worker, and most recently as a forklift driver in a warehouse where he wrote poems during his breaks. He 40

received his MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University in 2009. His poems have appeared in Crab Creek Review, The Portland Review, Two Hawks, PALABRA, and other places. He is the winner of the Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Award, a Here Today art grant, and the Floating Bridge Chapbook Award for his book, A Fort Made of Doors. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife Katrina, and two cats, Monty and Garcia Lorca. But he is originally from Olympia, Washington, which means he has a somewhat adversarial relationship with Portland, as Portland stole Olympia’s best bands.

James Gendron is the author of Sexual Boat (Sex Boats) and the chapbook Money Poems. He was born in Portland, Maine, and lives in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches writing at Portland State University.

Jonathan Hill is a cartoonist and illustrator. His first graphic novel, Americus, a collaboration with MK Reed, has garnered a handful of accolades including YALSA 2012 Best Graphic Novel for Teens Nominee, ABC New Voices 2011 Title, Graphic Novel Reporter Best of 2011, and the 2012 Carla Cohen Free Speech Award. He currently freelances, teaches comics classes at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, and is working on two new graphic novels and a children’s book.

John Isaacson is a cartoonist and writer whose comics and journalism have appeared in the Willamette Week, The East Bay Express, The Santa Barbara Independent, and the Side B and Bridge Project anthologies. His first graphic novel, Do It Yourself Screen-Printing, was published in 2007. He currently self-publishes a mini-comic, Feedback, which reviews concerts by local bands in comic form.

Apricot Anderson Irving is a writer and audio producer whose work has appeared on This American Life as well as in Granta, Tin House, Oregon Humanities, MORE Magazine and The Best Women’s Travel Writing. She is the founder and director of the Boise Voices Oral History Project and the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award and a Literary Arts Fellowship. She teaches Creative Nonfiction part-time at PSU, has lived on three continents and loves adventures with her wild, inventive boys.

Ramiza Koya’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in publications such as Washington Square Review, Lumina, and Catamaran, and she has been a fellow at both MacDowell Colony and Blue Mountain Center. She has both a BA and an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, and has taught in Spain, the Czech Republic, and Morocco. In addition to teaching composition courses, she also works as a freelance writer and editor. She is currently an adjunct instructor at Portland Community College.

Kathleen Lane is a fiction writer, visiting artist at Pacific Northwest College of Art, and co-creator of the art & literary event series SHARE. Her stories have been published by Swink Magazine, Chronicle Books, Poor Claudia, Coal City Review, and others. Before Portland she was a staff writer for Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam and co-founder of ART 180, a nonprofit in Richmond, Virginia that gives kids living in challenging circumstances a voice through the arts.

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Timothy S. Lane graduated from the University of Oregon with a journalism degree and worked as a sports reporter for The Molalla Pioneer before pursuing a career in publishing in New York City.

His writing has appeared in The Good Men Project and Pology. He lives with his wife in Portland, Oregon.

Amy Minato is author of a memoir, Siesta Lane, published in 2009 and a poetry collection, The Wider Lens, published in 2004. Her poetry has appeared in Wilderness Magazine, Poetry East, Windfall, Cimarron Review, and The Oregonian Poetry Corner, and has been recognized with a 2003 Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship. She teaches creative writing independently and through Fishtrap, Breitenbush, Sitka, and Opal Creek.

Lee Montgomery is the author of The Things Between Us, Whose World Is This?, and Searching for Emily: Illustrated. The Things Between Us received the 2007 Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction and Whose World Is This? received the 2007 John Simmons Iowa Short Fiction Award and was a finalist for the Ken Kesey Award in Fiction in 2008. Montgomery’s work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times magazine, Glimmer Train, Black Clock, Iowa Review, Denver Quarterly, Story Magazine, Alaska Quarterly, the Santa Monica Review and the Antioch Review, among many others. Montgomery has also worked as an editor. She was the fiction editor of the Iowa Review, the editor of the Santa Monica Review, senior editor for Dove Books, executive editor for Tin House magazine, and the associate publisher and editorial director of Tin House Books. She lives with her husband and daughter in Portland, Oregon.

Mark Pomeroy grew up in northeast Portland. He has received an Oregon Literary Fellowship for fiction and a residency at Caldera Arts. His short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in Open Spaces, The Wordstock 10, Portland Magazine, The Oregonian, the Waco Tribune-Herald, and What Teaching Means: Stories from America’s Classrooms. A former classroom teacher, he holds an MA in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was a Fellow in Teaching. He’s also an editor for Spoonwiz, a culinary website, www.spoonwiz.com. He lives with his family in northeast Portland, where he’s at work on a novel.

Melissa Reeser Poulin is an award-winning poet and writer. She received her MFA from Seattle Pacific University. Her work has appeared in Calyx, Catamaran Literary Journal, Ruminate Magazine, Sugar House Review, and Water~Stone Review, among other publications. Melissa has worked on organic farms and is currently editing an anthology of new writing on bees (wingedbook.com).

Carter Sickels is the author of the novel The Evening Hour, a Finalist for the 2013 Oregon Book Award, the Lambda Literary Debut Fiction Award, and the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Debut Fiction Award. Carter is winner of the 2013 Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Award, and the recipient of a 2013 project grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Carter has taught creative writing classes for the Attic Institute, Hugo House, and Gotham Writers’ Workshop. He is currently Visiting Faculty for West Virginia Wesleyan’s Low Residency MFA Program. Carter lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Desmond Spann is on a mission to motivate and inspire positive changes in people’s lives while having a crapload of fun. Under the name DLUXTL (TL=The Light) he performs spoken word, plays keyboard with Hip-Hop fusion band Speaker Minds, emcees (rap), and produces. He has dedicated his life to creating more passionate people who express themselves freely. Desmond uses rap, poetry, and performance as vehicles to encourage students to be bold in finding their unique voice.

Poet-dramatist Cindy Williams Gutiérrez collaborates with musicians, thespians, and visual artists. Her collection, the small claim of bones, is forthcoming from Bilingual Press (Arizona State University). Poems and reviews appear in Borderlands, Calyx, Harvard’s Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, UNAM’s Periódico de poesía, Portland Review, and Rain Taxi. Her CD, “Emerald Heart,” reimagines Aztec poetry accompanied by pre-Hispanic music. Her plays have been produced

by Milagro and Insight Out Theatre Collective. Cindy earned an MFA from the University of Southern Maine and teaches youth through the Portland Art Museum, Right Brain Initiative, Wordstock, and Writers in the Schools.

Matt Zrebski is a multi-award winning playwright, composer, script consultant, teaching artist, and producer-director whose career has been defined by new play development. As an Artistic Director, he mounted over 40 world premieres, and has had several of his plays produced, including Texting the Sun, 1 ½, Big Sis, and Ablaze. As the Resident Teaching Artist at Portland Center Stage, he teaches playwriting through Visions and Voices, and is on staff for Acting Academy at Oregon Children’s Theatre. Zrebski holds a BFA in Theatre from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.

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