en
español
~
Living With Literature -
Writing Our
Stories
SPONSORED
BY
The National
Foundation for the Arts
Link to: Selections from "In Our Own Words," written by series participants
People and Stories / Gente y Cuentos is
one of 13 New Jersey arts organizations to share just over $1 million
from the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the federal agency's
second round of 2006 awards.
The Star Ledger, April 20,
2006.
Link
to news story.
In "Living With Literature - Writing our Stories," People and Stories / Gente y Cuentos adds a writing component to the classic format of its program. The purpose of the project is to create access to literature and to the process of written creative expression for adults in residential facilities, such as prisons, transitional housing programs, women's shelters, and senior facilities, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
A 10-week series is being offered at each of the selected sites, using short stories to spark the motivation to read literature, to create awareness of the relevance of literature to life, and to facilitate creative writing. The extended 10-week format augments the classic 8-week series with an integrated writing component. Participants write about their lives, using the imaginative sparks created by the literature discussions. At the end of the series, participants' writings are collected and bound into a booklet, entitled "Living with Literature - Writing Our Stories."
The vision of the project is to provide participants with the opportunity to develop a love of reading literature and an appreciation for the craft of writing.
Gente y Cuentos Program - El Centro de Recursos
Classic Format - People and Stories / Gente y Cuentos is a literature program in English and in Spanish, designed to create wider access to works of literature for adults and young adults, who have had limited opportunities to experience the power of literature. A primary goal is to use the poetic power of short stories to spark the motivation to read.
The format of the program is essentially the same at all sites. In eight, ninety-minute sessions, stories of poetic depth, beauty, and power, are read aloud. The oral reading cuts across the various reading levels in the group, creating an atmosphere of shared experience and inviting those whose skills levels would prevent an independent reading of the text to become immersed in its intoned poetic and dramatic rhythms.
After the reading, a trained coordinator leads a discussion in which the story's poetics, shadows, tensions, and issues are explored. Often drawing on the participants’ life experience and knowledge as a point of entry into the text, the coordinator's questions promote an atmosphere of trust, fostering deep inquiry about life experiences and the art of the story.
The structured, seminar-style discussion method, typical of a college classroom, enables readers to experience the satisfaction that comes from a rigorous, non-didactic exploration of the text. Because the stories are complex in the way that life is complex, a sense of mastery and accomplishment develop as the discussions encourage a deep probing of the texts and their relevance to life. Participants are encouraged to move beyond stereotypes, communicate better across racial and cultural differences, and to refine critical and analytical thinking skills. Positions and opinions open up for re-examination and reflection, and participants who lack formal education discover the ways their life experience has prepared them to understand the stories.