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In Science Hot Spot, Arts Get a Boost, Too
By John Hildebrand
Newsday, Long Island, NY - December 12, 2000
It's
no coincidence that Ward Melville, a few miles from a science-oriented
university, usually manages to accommodate students who want to do research, say,
on enzyme interactions or collisions of continental plates.
This is
not a school, though, where teenage poets and playwrights pass unnoticed.
To the contrary, aspiring writers gather in classes here two or three
times each week, not just to discuss their latest works, but also to mail out
those verses, short stories and one-act plays to potential
publishers.
Editing and rewriting are painstaking in these classes so
much so that instructor Faith Krinsky once tried to ease students' anxieties by
replacing her red marking pencil with a neutral shade of green.
It
really is a tightrope," said Krinsky, whose students have won 150 prizes
(count 'em) since her writing classes opened five years ago. "If you're able
to help them without hurting their feelings, I guess they become very close to
you, because it's all part of the creative process."
One of
Krinsky's latest successful proteges is Benjamin Rhatigan, now 20, and a
sophomore at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. A short story written by
Rhatigan while he still was in high school appears in a new book, "Teen Ink:
Our Voices, Our Visions."
"Teen Ink" contains the
best works published for years in a national magazine of the same name. The
magazine used to be known as "The 21st Century," until the publishers decided
that the name had lost its futuristic edge. Other Long Islanders whose works
appear in the book are Andrea Josenhans, a graduate of Plainedge High School, and
Amy Spota and Christine Brash, both alumnae of Babylon Junior-Senior High School.
Rhatigan's story, which deals with a grandfather's death, happens
to be the first he ever wrote for Krinsky's class. Actually, that's not too
surprising, because articles by Ward Melville students appear regularly in
Teen Ink magazine. Editors rate Krinsky among the top dozen teachers in the
country for her ability to groom contributors to their
publication.
"They send us so much good stuff, it's sometimes
difficult to choose," said John, who is co-founder along with his wife,
Stephanie, of the magazine and of the nonprofit Young Authors Foundation that
sponsors it. The foundation, based in a Boston suburb, also publishes a
poetry journal.
Incongruous as it might sound, Krinsky's course,
"Independent Writing for Publication," was inspired by a Ward Melville
course that prepares students for science contests. Science research is a
favorite pursuit here, because the school is part of the Three Villages district,
which also encompasses the State University of Stony Brook.
Science
competitions impose a certain discipline -- project goals have to be
established, deadlines met. Both Krinsky and her English department chairman,
Frank Napolitano, thought the same sort of challenge might appeal to students
oriented toward the humanities.
The result is the writing program
where students keep a close eye on deadlines, as they mail out entries to
publications and contests across the country. Financial stakes might seem small
-- a typical writing prize is $200, compared with the $5,000 or so often
awarded to finalists in national science contests.
Psychological
rewards are much the same, though. Ward Melville recognizes its published authors
by posting names in a glass case; it's just down the hallway from another display
case honoring science winners.
"There's mine!" said Jesse
Snider, 18, a Ward Melville senior, gesturing to a bulletin announcing his
recognition in a recent journalism contest sponsored by a Boston college.
He's also written poems and a one-act play.
Rhatigan, who plans to
major in English at Wesleyan, said of the course, "I mean, it was amazing,
the best thing I did in high school."
"Mrs. Krinsky knew when we
weren't putting our best into it, even when she'd known us for only a couple
weeks. That was important, for us to do our best."
Spota, whose
scratchboard drawing of a ballerina appears in the "Teen Ink" book,
says she owes her recognition to a Babylon teacher, Celeste Topazio, who worked
both with her and classmate Brash.
"She always sent in kids'
work," said Spota, who is 20 and an art major at Fashion Institute of
Technology in Manhattan. "She tried to push us out and have us
seen."
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About the Teen Ink book
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