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Young Writers get National Forum
A book compiled by the
editors of Teen Ink Magazine features works by two North Penn High School
grads
By Beth Long
The Record - November 30, 2000
Emma Hill
has vivid memories of her grandfather cooking Christmas breakfast.
In a
carefully crafted poem, the North Penn High School graduate relates the sights,
sounds and smells of the cherished experiences.
The work ultimately
becomes an ode to her grandfather, whose illness in the final verse creates a
stark contrast to the earlier recollections.
Hill's highly personal
writing is included in a compilation of works exclusively by
teenagers.
The book Teen Ink: Our Voices, Our Visions showcases the
talents of young writers from across the country.
Hill and another North
Penn graduate, Kate Staples, are published in the 350-page book. It is available
nationally in stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.
"We feel kids
should really have more of a voice and feel empowered by their abilities," said
Stephanie Meyer, who along with husband, John, compiled the new book.
The
Meyers are editors and publishers of Teen Ink Magazine, a nonprofit monthly
publication distributed to 4,000 middle and high schools across the country.
Their offices are in Newton, Mass.
The Teen Ink book represents the finest
of some 300,000 submissions to the magazine over the last 12 years.
It has
received praise from a variety of teens and adults, from filmmaker George Lucas
to Kimberly Kirberger, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
series.
All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Young Authors
Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by the Meyers to increase
writing and publishing opportunities for young adults.
"It was kind of
weird," Hill said of seeing her poem printed in a book. "I was surprised when I
saw it was so professional."
Hill, 18, was a member of the class of 2000
of North Penn High School. She is now a freshman at Millersville University
studying psychology.
"I guess I've written my whole life," she said. "I
wrote simple stuff when I was little and then more complicated things when I got
to high school."
"Feast Fit for a King" resulted from a creative writing
assignment her senior year.
"We were told to write something that used
lots of sensory descriptions," Hill said. "Part of the assignment was to submit
to a magazine."
Hill's grandfather, Frederick Veith, came to her family's
Hatfield home each Christmas to create the morning meal. He died two years ago in
his late 70s.
Eggs Benedict was his specialty.
"He really liked to
cook," Hill recalled. "All my cousins were there, and we all had a part in
it."
In her poem, Hill writes: "The Christmas morning rituals were
expected/ Like the moon and the stars and the sun/ Always there before/ Always
will be there."
Later in the poem we see her grandfather in the hospital:
"The gentle hum of the life machine/ Replaced the songs in his own throat/ With
sullen eyes but a proud heart/ He refused to give in to the nurses' pleas/ To eat
his breakfast/ Because the cook always preferred/ His own eggs Benedict/ To
strawberry Jell-O."
Like Hill, Kate Staples sent her short story into Teen
Ink Magazine as part of a writing assignment.
Also like Hill, she relied
on personal experience to tell the story of a lonely man she met in the dementia
ward of the nursing home where she worked during high school.
"I wanted to
convey the true sadness of the situation," said Staples, 20, a 1998 North Penn
graduate who attends Temple University's Ambler campus.
"Sam and His
Tomatoes" is a blend of mostly truth and a bit of fiction, she said. Sam was a
widower in his late 80s. What struck Staples about him was the way he spoke about
his wife.
"There was a loneliness about him," she said. "I worked at the
nursing home for three years. It affects you after a while. That's the way a lot
of people's lives end."
Staples writes: "This was the hardest part of my
visits. I hated leaving. I often thought how lonely it must be staring out of the
window all day, waiting for someone to help pass the time."
Staples and
her family continue to visit the nursing home at Christmastime to bring presents
to the residents.
Stephanie Meyer said the book is powerful because the
teens have written from the heart about things that are important to
them.
Chapters include "Friends"; "Fitting In"; "Love"; "Challenges";
"Loss"; and "Memories."
"I think the book will also be enjoyed by parents,
teachers and adults," Meyer said. "There are a lot of cross-generational issues
here. We're realizing for parents this is an incredible tool for opening
conversations."
Both Staples and Hill said as teens it was often easier to
write about things that are difficult to talk about.
"Writing is something
I can do on my own terms," Staples said. "You kind of write your own rules."
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About the Teen Ink book
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