2007 Youth Workshop


Txt Me: Identity and Community was a youth summer program that provided a forum for writing through new means of communication. Inspired by discussions about internet identity and increasing blog sites, The Asian American Writers' Workshop brought together ten young writers from diverse backgrounds and experience with web-based literature.

The program was designed for youth to engage in creative writing and explore identities through a student-created internet avatar. During the eight-week workshop, participants made unique personal avatars, participated in a Txt Me blog community, and wrote poetry and short stories, culminating in a live reading of their exciting new work. You can find links to their blog avatars and podcasts on this page below.

Txt Me: Identity and Community was taught by Mrigaa Sethi, Nicholas Chung, and Kaori Suzuki during the summer of 2007. Txt Me included a field trip to the New York Times, a performance and voice workshop with actor Tommy Schoffler, and writing guidance by editor Nina Sharma. Txt Me was funded by a generous grant from The Ford Foundation's Good Neighbor Committee.



Txt Me writers and their podcasts:

Philoxia (Wing Lam Cheung) is a Tibetan witch and the caretaker of a flock of llamas who resides in a rural home.
The Bleats and Clicks of Life- An eccentric and greedy elderly by the name of Philoxia lives upon the Tibetan plains. Much of her time is divided between her flock of llamas and the craft of knitting..

Philip (Pau Font de Rubinat) is a motor rider who has won one championship. He is near 30 years and his father died one month ago, but in a few days he is going to defend his title!
Interview of a MotorGP Rider- Philip shares his feelings about riding and his life..

LuckyLuke77 (Toni Walton) is a man from England, but after the Second World War, moved to Mars. Now he lives on Mars. He is very unfriendly with humans and has not spoken for over 25 years.
Vote For Me- Luckyluke77 is a human on Mars. Now he is running for the next Mars Presidentials..

Steve Zissou (Wei Jie Chen) is an oceanographer and a documentarian of his voyages to sea. He prefers to be called Stevesy.
Mayday on Mayday- Steve Zissou is on a voyage to kill the elusive Jaguar Shark. However, several problems arise and nothing stays on course..

Mary Button (Ivana Ng) is a mathematician living in Park Slope. She enjoys proving math theorems in her spare time, and she works part-time as a mathemagician. She dabbles in spoken word poetry and does not like to be called a hipster.
Ode to Misunderstood Mathematicians- In this spoken word piece, Mary Button discusses some of her favorite things: Euler, Pythagoras and James Garfield (so dreamy!)..

Nevkenis (Matthew Yee) writes songs for a living, in accordance with his dreams and nightmares. Those are his motivations for his songs. His demented mind still keeps him awake for so long. As long as it will take him to finish his piece..
Hollow Jack/ the dream- Nevkenis writes his dream..

Granny Lulu (Lauriz Anne Bonzon) is a slightly senile, cranky old woman who resides in the Sagging Arms Retirement Home in Dublin, Ireland. She enjoys hearing herself talk and her age is higher than her IQ.
The Telephone Game- Granny Lulu uses modern technology to teach today's youth the value of helping the elderly, to brighten their day with sweet music, to offer sagely advice, and to inspire people nationwide to go out and get Caller ID..

Catherine Clark (Tasnim Shamma) is a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times in Chicago, Illinois. She recently accepted an assignment to Afghanistan, where she gets kidnapped.
Captured In Afghanistan- In this piece, Tasnim Shamma takes up the identity of her fictional avatar, catherine_clark, a Chicago Sun Times reporter who gets assigned to Afghanistan. catherine_clark, while reporting, gets kidnapped. She must find a way to escape from her captors while making sure she gets the scoop..

Lily Rose Cloverfield (MariJo Umali) is a 19 year old UCLA student that secretly cheated her way into UCLA and is presently suffering the consequences.
Untitled- Lily Rose Cloverfield suffers the consequences of having cheated her way..

Marissa Bailey (Jessica Bolandrina) is a 15 year old Pacific Islander who approaches her chaotic life with sarcasm and humor.
Comfort Zone- Through the words of an old soul in a teenage heart, Riss Bailey goes through the awkward experience of bringing her friends home to a rather chaotic household and, through her embarrassment and her friend's words, learns that even something that awkward can be comforting..

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