Literary Organization Detail:
Bronx Writers Center
| General Information: | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Literary Organization |
| Name: | Bronx Writers Center |
| Address: |
2521 Glebe Avenue Bronx NY 10461 |
| County/Region: | Bronx (Bronx) |
| Description: | ORGANIZATION PROFILE: THE BRONX WRITERS CENTER, The Bronx Writers' Center, a program of the Bronx Council on the Arts, is devoted to the professional and artistic development of Bronx writers, and to expanding audiences for literature in the Bronx. Housed at the Westchester Square Branch of the New York Public Library, the Center serves as a quiet space for writers in all genres to work, research, attend free workshops and readings, and stay connected to the literary community while developing their craft. In addition, both established and emerging writers are engaged in creating new programs that serve the community-at-large, as well as aid in the development of their own careers. SERVICES OF THE BRONX WRITERS CENTER WORKSPACE: Writers can use the workspace by appointment. Computers, printer, and fax machine are available, as well as on-line capability. LITERARY RESEARCH: Opportunities for publishing, marketing, and funding can be researched through our growing library of resource books and publications. READING COLLECTIONS: The Center is developing a growing library of poetry, fiction, literary non-fiction, plays, and literary journals. The Reading Collections emphasize works by people of color, Latinos, new immigrant communities, gay and lesbian writers, and other minorities that reflect the neighborhoods of the Bronx. The Center is also acquiring books written by authors born in, or currently living in, the Bronx. TEACHING AIDS: Workbooks and teaching materials for teaching creative writing at all levels, with a focus on children and adolescents. LISTENING LIBRARY: A seed collection of spoken word. CDS are available to the public for listening. VIDEO LIBRARY: Videotapes of readings and interviews with leading contemporary poets can be viewed at the Writers' Center. WORKSHOPS: Workshops designed to develop craft and technique in all genres, as well as workshops on professional issues, such as publishing, copyright, and the literary marketplace are regularly offered. SPOKEN WORD PERFORMANCES: The Center provides a forum for writers to share their work with the community by sponsoring readings at the Center, and at various locations throughout the Bronx. LITERARY CALENDAR: The Center publishes a bi-monthly calendar listing poetry readings, play readings, book discussions, workshops, and other spoken word events throughout the Bronx. LITERARY FORUM: This annual event brings together regional literary organizations whose programs directly benefit writers by providing financial support through grants or fellowships, reading venues, publishing opportunities or assistance with career or craft development. BRONX WRITERSCORPS: A complement to the Writers' Center, Bronx WritersCorps is the primary vehicle creating public programs and nurturing interest in the Literary Arts. WritersCorps provides literary services to community based organizations (e.g youth and senior centers, schools) throughout the borough. CHAPTER ONE: An annual reading series and competition, open to residents of New York City, intended to encourage emerging novelists to share their work with an audience while emphasizing the importance of a strong first chapter. FEEDBACK CORNER: An on-going opportunity for writers to submit their manuscripts for one on one review and critiquing by a WritersCorps member. THE BRONX WRITERS CENTER is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts Literature Program, the NYS Department of Education, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Bronx Delegation of the City Council, Borough President Fernando Ferrer, the American Express Foundation, Greentree Foundation, J. M Kaplan Fund and BCA members. The Bronx Council on the Arts is grateful to the New York Public Library for their collaboration in creating the first space of its kind in the Bronx which promotes the development of writers and the Literary Arts. LITERARY SERIES PROFILE: BRONX WRITERSCORPS, a program of the Bronx Council on the Arts' Bronx Writers' Center has for the past four years partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts to promote WritersCorps. The Bronx WritersCorps program was created to improve literacy levels and to provide avenues of expression for residents of the most undeserved and challenged Bronx neighborhoods. Below is a brief summary of the overall program: Bronx WritersCorps: Approaching its fifth year. Serves approximately 30 community sites yearly. -Participants range in age from pre-kindergarten to seniors and represent all ethnic communities of the Bronx. Shapes several types of partnerships, those being: between the writer and the participant; among the participants; between the site and the community; and between Bronx Council on the Arts/ Bronx Writers Center and all of the above. Creates an environment where participants learn about the craft of writing; where the community learns about an art form that could respond to their needs and communicate their knowledge, and where the writer was enriched by the participants he or she taught. Provides participants with an opportunity to give a public reading of their work at the end of the program through "Bronx WritersCorps Week." Introduces participants to writing in a wide variety of forms, including poetry, fiction, playwrighting, journal writing and oral history. Develops lesson plan curriculums each year to encourage the exchange of various teaching techniques within the Literary Arts genre. Publishes between 10 and 15 anthologies and newsletters each year. Publications have allowed for over 1,000 "writers" to be heard. THE SELECTION PROCESS: Community-based organizations (CBOs) are selected based upon the needs of their clients, their willingness to participate, and their capacity to adhere to basic project requirements. Writers are selected based on their writing background and previous community service. The writer is then partnered with a CBO, ranging from housing facilities, drug treatment centers, Senior Citizen Centers to homeless shelters or a juvenile detention center. Together the CBO and the participating writer design a program to address the needs of their clients. In most cases, the clients served are "at risk." WritersCorps is not an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a long-term collaborative process to effect positive change in these "at risk" communities through improved literacy. |
| Phone Numbers: |
718-409-1265 |
| Fax | 718-409-1351 |
| Email/Website/Webmaster: |
wtrsctr@bronxarts.org Public Website |
| Business Hours: | [no data] |
| Related People: | |
| Curator: |
Shipman, Leslie |
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