Writing Our Lives

Writing Our Lives provides Syracuse area youth with creative opportunities to write, create, produce and share their stories. The program takes multiple formats, including after-school writing programs, summer writing institutes, book clubs, digital composing programs, theatrical performances and an annual youth writing conference.

Professor Marcelle Haddix also engages faculty and staff from across the School of Education and Syracuse University to present and facilitate workshops, as well as both undergraduate and graduate students.

For more information contact:

Marcelle Haddix, Associate Provost; Distinguished Dean's Professor

mhaddix@syr.edu|315.443.7642

Community Engagement Fellows

The Writing Our Lives Community Engagement Fellowship is a unique opportunity for a community engaged teaching artist to develop and facilitate youth literacy and arts programming in Syracuse, New York. This fellowship bridges creative teaching and community collaboration within the dynamic environment of Central New York. It provides an opportunity for teaching artists from an array of disciplines to explore cross-disciplinary programming that cultivates writing and literacy spaces for youth within and beyond school communities.

Applications are currently open for Summer 2020.
Deadline: March 25, 2020

Fellows will:

• Develop and facilitate a Writing Our Lives program curriculum for adolescent youth writers;
• Direct an after-school program for Writing Our Lives youth participants;
• Provide arts-based writing workshops for Writing Our Lives youth participants;
• Coordinate and develop programming for the annual Writing Our Lives conference;
• Guest lecture in literacy and education courses for the Reading and Language Arts department as assigned;
• Identify individual and programmatic goals for the fellowship, generating and developing curriculums and events appropriate to those goals;
• Engage with a community of artistic professionals and organizations in the Greater Syracuse area;
• Receive support for the advancement and advocacy of work generated during the year, along with continued access to Syracuse University resources and facilities during the course of the Fellowship.

Fellows work directly with and under the leadership of Dr. Marcelle Haddix, chair of the Reading and Language Arts Department, School of Education, and founder of the Writing Our Lives youth writing project.

Application and Selection Process

Applicants must reside within or in close proximity of Syracuse, New York. Applicants must identify as a literary artist or writer, have strong interest in community engagement and make a case for how the fellowship and participation in the Writing Our Lives program would promote transformative artistic, teaching, and professional growth.

Application Requirements:

• A cover sheet, which includes your name, address, phone number, and email address.
• A current CV or resume that highlights artistic, writing, and literacy achievements;
• List of two professional references familiar with community engagement work;
• A one-page statement that describes (1) current community engagement work; (2) interest in the fellowship; and (3) how the fellowship supports future professional goals;
• A sample of your work:
  • Poetry: 10 pages
  • Fiction and plays: up to 25 pages
  • Creative-Nonfiction: up to 25 pages
  • Performance art, including music, drama, spoken word: 5-7 minutes of audio or video.
• Email all materials to Marcelle Haddix, mhaddix@syr.edu, by March 25, 2020