Arts & Entertainment

Conard Grad Returns to Help Connecticut Young Writers Trust

Electronic submissions for this year's contest are being accepted through March 31.

West Hartford Native Amy Ma, the 2001 State Poetry Champion who is now a teacher at Hartford's renowned Jumoke Academy, is working with Connecticut Young Writers Trust Chairman, poet and professor Ravi Shankar.

Ma and Shankar facilitated workshops in sports writing, performance poetry and music's enhancement of the learning process. The workshops herald this year's entry deadline of March 31.

Ma is a graduate of Conard High School, Wesleyan University, and CCSU, and is also the daughter of West Hartford Board of Education member Naogan Ma.

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Electronic submissions for this year's Young Writer's Competition are being accepted via http://www.ctyoungwriterstrust.org/. The Trust hosted free workshops for young poets and writers and their teachers from around the state on March 10 at the Jumoke Academy in Hartford and at Rockville High School on March 13. The workshops were sponsored by a development grant from First Niagara Bank.

On April 13, Connecticut poet Marilyn Nelson and novelist Wally Lamb will perform at The Hartford Club at 7 p.m. in a fundraising event.

Since 1998, the Trust has affirmed the work of more than 7,000 young poets and writers, awarding more than $200,000 in prize money. The current fundraising effort will determine how much prize money is awarded this year.

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The Trust will climax the current cycle with its annual celebration June 2 as part of Connecticut Young Poets Day at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. Connecticut Young Poets Day, a new feature of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, will take place during the festival’s 20th anniversary inaugural weekend.

The annual celebration at Hill-Stead June 2 will feature the winners of Connecticut’s eight state writing competitions, a workshop and performance by 21-year-old award-winning slam poet and international hip hop star B. Yung, concerts by Chorus Angelicus and gospel legend Theresa Thomason, plus MetaFour with guitar virtuoso Jeff Howard and Andy Wrba of Barefoot Truth.

Lisa C. Taylor, award-winning poet and educator, will lead a dynamic workshop for teachers in grades 8-12 called “Writing Against the Current.” The event culminates in a special featured performance by former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Wilbur. The CT Young Writers Trust will collaborate with the Hill-Stead Museum and the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival for an extraordinary day devoted to the literary arts.  Taylor’s workshop is also sponsored by First Niagara.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at http://www.ctyoungwriterstrust.org/donate   It is the support of teachers, parents, older writers, and our generous business and professional donors that has kept this program alive for 15 years. You could also send a check to CT Young Writers Trust, PO Box 8898, New Haven, CT 06532.   For more information, contact Trust Chairman Ravi Shankar, 860-938-2139 or emailravishankar2011@gmail.com.

The Connecticut Young Writers Trust is a non-profit 501 C (3). Contributions are tax deductible. Federal tax ID: 31-1635811.

This information was submitted by Andy Thibault. 

 


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