Category: Projects
Make Plain Paper Beautiful – The 2021 Pizza Poetry Anthology
Celebrate Black Joy!
Celebrate Black Joy!
To honor the fullness of Black life, we are seeking stories of Black joy from our Black youth. We want to hear the things, big and small, that bring our young people happiness. This is a space specifically for Black voices.
How can you do that?
Step 1 : Create Your Joy List
What makes you happy? Think of lots of things, big and small, that bring you joy. Use one of our joy list templates like Ms. Kyley did, or make your own. After you’ve finished writing your list, please share it with us. You can snap a picture and email it to Ms. Rosie or text it to (504) 684-5595.
Our partners at Be Loud Studios have also set up a hotline!
– Call (504) 571- 9809 and wait for the beep.
– Tell us your name/age and read us your list.
Step 2 : Pick one thing from your list and make a plan.
What is one experience from your list that you can write well about? Pick a good moment. It’s important to focus on one moment that you can describe in really good detail. The Explode the Moment graphic organizer from ReadWriteThink can help you use your senses to paint a picture of what happened. Ms. Kyley decided to write about the moment her daughter conquered her fear of going down a big slide. You can watch a video of Ms. Kyley completing her graphic organizer here.
Step 3: Write the moment.
Use the Explode the Moment graphic organizer you completed to write about this moment. Put the details in the best order to tell your story of what made you happy. You can watch Ms. Kyley write her story here.
When you are finished, snap a photo of it, and send it to Ms. Rosie , or text it to (504) 684-5595. You can also submit it online. If you can, send us a picture (drawn or real) to match the writing. We’ll follow up with you to see if you’d like do an audio recording of your story!
Beaucoup Easy Books
Beaucoup Easy Books!
When asked about his experience working with 826 New Orleans, a newly published author said, “You would think making a book was hard, but it was beaucoup easy!”
We loved that. It showed that bookmaking can be accessible.
Making a book doesn’t have to be hard. With Beaucoup Easy Books, young writers can create their own homemade books with our bookmaking kits. To make a book, all you really need is paper (but, we’ll throw in some lagniappe to make it pop). We’ll also provide a little guidance to help young people craft their writing.
While social distancing practices are still in place, 826 New Orleans wants to continue to provide opportunities for young people to publish their work. From the safety of their homes, and without having to use the computer.
There are two kits available, for either K-3 or 4-8. Volunteers can deliver a kit to you if you live in Orleans parish. Kits will also be available for pick up at our center.
Sign up for a kit here until July 1st. Kits will be delivered starting July 6th.
Writing on the Wall: Week 5 – Authors’ Bios
As young people wrote their author’s biographies for the final week of Writing on the Wall, the world was also rocked with another police killing of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd. Their words were bits of light through our grief. You can read all the authors’ bios here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 4 – Freestyle!
Week 4 – Freestyle!
In the fourth week of Writing on the Wall, young people chose their own genres. There were jokes, lists, memories, poems, thank yous, and all-around beautiful words. See all the Freestyle writing here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 3 – Six Word Memoirs!
May 15th – 6 Word Memoirs!
A memoir is a “life-story.” In the third week of Writing on the Wall, young people took on the difficult task of saying something about their lives using only six words. See all 6 Word Memoirs here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 2 – Haikus!
May 8th – Haiku
Haikus are a form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines.
The first line has five syllables / The second line has seven syllables / The third line has five syllables
In the second week of Writing on the Wall, young people wrote haikus inspired by their current conditions. See all the haiku posts here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 1 – Flashback Friday!
May 1st – Flashback Friday
We use Flashback Friday (#FBF) to share memories from the past. In the first week of Writing on the Wall, young people thought about their lives before the quarantine, and drew and wrote about things that were special to them.
Our writers shared about many kinds of things: learning to ride a bike, scoring the winning goal, and other important experiences. See all the Flashback Friday posts here.
photo credit: Jonathan Traviesa
Writing on the Wall
Writing on the Wall
Right now, hearing from young people feels more important than ever. But, because of this strange time, we didn’t have the usual tools to publish writing, so we had to get creative with sharing youth voice. And we knew, books aren’t the only way you can publish.
At 826 New Orleans we think publishing means preparing your writing for an audience, getting it ready for a reader. With our project Writing on the Wall, young people published their work right on their front steps. Every Friday in May they wrote something on a piece of large chart paper, and displayed it somewhere other people in their community could enjoy it (front door, gate, etc.).
826 New Orleans supported the writing by providing chart paper, markers, and weekly writing experiences. Volunteers delivered these items to homes around the city – from Marrero to Pearl River. Young people sent pictures of their work to us to share. We’ll be adding them to a book once we can be together again.
See all the Writing on the Wall below:
Week 1 – Flashback Friday Week 2 – Haikus Week 3 – Six Word Memoirs
Youth Monument Proposals Featured on Buzzfeed!
“Was Ruby Bridges old when she fought racism? No, she was not. She was a kid.” https://t.co/DolliOms92
— wikipedia brown (@eveewing) July 7, 2018
London, Coby, Aakhirah, and Lukas’s pieces from Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans went viral on Twitter thanks to the wonderful author Daniel José Older. Buzzfeed covered the excitement, which you can read all about here.
Shout out to our partners at Homer Plessy Community School and to Cartoon Network and Teaching Tolerance for supporting this special project.
Make Plain Paper Beautiful – The 2021 Pizza Poetry Anthology
Celebrate Black Joy!
Celebrate Black Joy!
To honor the fullness of Black life, we are seeking stories of Black joy from our Black youth. We want to hear the things, big and small, that bring our young people happiness. This is a space specifically for Black voices.
How can you do that?
Step 1 : Create Your Joy List
What makes you happy? Think of lots of things, big and small, that bring you joy. Use one of our joy list templates like Ms. Kyley did, or make your own. After you’ve finished writing your list, please share it with us. You can snap a picture and email it to Ms. Rosie or text it to (504) 684-5595.
Our partners at Be Loud Studios have also set up a hotline!
– Call (504) 571- 9809 and wait for the beep.
– Tell us your name/age and read us your list.
Step 2 : Pick one thing from your list and make a plan.
What is one experience from your list that you can write well about? Pick a good moment. It’s important to focus on one moment that you can describe in really good detail. The Explode the Moment graphic organizer from ReadWriteThink can help you use your senses to paint a picture of what happened. Ms. Kyley decided to write about the moment her daughter conquered her fear of going down a big slide. You can watch a video of Ms. Kyley completing her graphic organizer here.
Step 3: Write the moment.
Use the Explode the Moment graphic organizer you completed to write about this moment. Put the details in the best order to tell your story of what made you happy. You can watch Ms. Kyley write her story here.
When you are finished, snap a photo of it, and send it to Ms. Rosie , or text it to (504) 684-5595. You can also submit it online. If you can, send us a picture (drawn or real) to match the writing. We’ll follow up with you to see if you’d like do an audio recording of your story!
Beaucoup Easy Books
Beaucoup Easy Books!
When asked about his experience working with 826 New Orleans, a newly published author said, “You would think making a book was hard, but it was beaucoup easy!”
We loved that. It showed that bookmaking can be accessible.
Making a book doesn’t have to be hard. With Beaucoup Easy Books, young writers can create their own homemade books with our bookmaking kits. To make a book, all you really need is paper (but, we’ll throw in some lagniappe to make it pop). We’ll also provide a little guidance to help young people craft their writing.
While social distancing practices are still in place, 826 New Orleans wants to continue to provide opportunities for young people to publish their work. From the safety of their homes, and without having to use the computer.
There are two kits available, for either K-3 or 4-8. Volunteers can deliver a kit to you if you live in Orleans parish. Kits will also be available for pick up at our center.
Sign up for a kit here until July 1st. Kits will be delivered starting July 6th.
Writing on the Wall: Week 5 – Authors’ Bios
As young people wrote their author’s biographies for the final week of Writing on the Wall, the world was also rocked with another police killing of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd. Their words were bits of light through our grief. You can read all the authors’ bios here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 4 – Freestyle!
Week 4 – Freestyle!
In the fourth week of Writing on the Wall, young people chose their own genres. There were jokes, lists, memories, poems, thank yous, and all-around beautiful words. See all the Freestyle writing here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 3 – Six Word Memoirs!
May 15th – 6 Word Memoirs!
A memoir is a “life-story.” In the third week of Writing on the Wall, young people took on the difficult task of saying something about their lives using only six words. See all 6 Word Memoirs here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 2 – Haikus!
May 8th – Haiku
Haikus are a form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines.
The first line has five syllables / The second line has seven syllables / The third line has five syllables
In the second week of Writing on the Wall, young people wrote haikus inspired by their current conditions. See all the haiku posts here.
Writing on the Wall: Week 1 – Flashback Friday!
May 1st – Flashback Friday
We use Flashback Friday (#FBF) to share memories from the past. In the first week of Writing on the Wall, young people thought about their lives before the quarantine, and drew and wrote about things that were special to them.
Our writers shared about many kinds of things: learning to ride a bike, scoring the winning goal, and other important experiences. See all the Flashback Friday posts here.
photo credit: Jonathan Traviesa
Writing on the Wall
Writing on the Wall
Right now, hearing from young people feels more important than ever. But, because of this strange time, we didn’t have the usual tools to publish writing, so we had to get creative with sharing youth voice. And we knew, books aren’t the only way you can publish.
At 826 New Orleans we think publishing means preparing your writing for an audience, getting it ready for a reader. With our project Writing on the Wall, young people published their work right on their front steps. Every Friday in May they wrote something on a piece of large chart paper, and displayed it somewhere other people in their community could enjoy it (front door, gate, etc.).
826 New Orleans supported the writing by providing chart paper, markers, and weekly writing experiences. Volunteers delivered these items to homes around the city – from Marrero to Pearl River. Young people sent pictures of their work to us to share. We’ll be adding them to a book once we can be together again.
See all the Writing on the Wall below:
Week 1 – Flashback Friday Week 2 – Haikus Week 3 – Six Word Memoirs
Youth Monument Proposals Featured on Buzzfeed!
“Was Ruby Bridges old when she fought racism? No, she was not. She was a kid.” https://t.co/DolliOms92
— wikipedia brown (@eveewing) July 7, 2018
London, Coby, Aakhirah, and Lukas’s pieces from Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans went viral on Twitter thanks to the wonderful author Daniel José Older. Buzzfeed covered the excitement, which you can read all about here.
Shout out to our partners at Homer Plessy Community School and to Cartoon Network and Teaching Tolerance for supporting this special project.
