We are so excited to announce the 2021 Just Buffalo Writing Center Youth Fellows: Millie Rodriguez-Spencer and Sophie Zhu! “These are two prolific writers with strong voices attuned to an informed listening and responsibility to community,” said final judge Christina Vega-Westhoff.
We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2021 Poetry Fellowship: Porsha Olayiwola of Boston, MA. Olayiwola will visit Buffalo this August for a writing residency and perform at the Aug. 28 Silo City Reading Series event.
"Families hide their ghosts." In this short story by 2020 Just Buffalo Writing Center Youth Fellow Fiona Stewart, a family's unspoken truths come to haunt teenager Jesse Kim as she hides a truth of her own.
"Buffalo is often called the 'City of Good Neighbors' because it is a city that's home to a large refugee and immigrant population. As Buffalonians we pride ourselves on this flourishing diversity. But with xenophobia and hate crimes on the rise, sometimes the message behind being a 'City of Good Neighbors' is forgotten. Through this summer fellowship at the Just Buffalo Writing Center I interviewed three different immigrants who call America home, and offer readers a snapshot of their lives. My hope is that by sharing these narratives, we can learn how each of our experiences intertwine and that human empathy ties people from all varying backgrounds together. These profiles act as a response to the question, 'What makes being the “City of Good Neighbors” so wonderful?'"
Presenting 2018 JBWC Youth Fellow Trinity Ridout.
"Do I approve of violence? / Oh is that the question?" read this poem by 2018 Just Buffalo Writing Center Youth Fellow Maya Simmons inspired by an interview with Angela Davis.