Our Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak

As a precaution to help limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and care for our community, Just Buffalo Literary Center has postponed a number of events, and we will follow the guidance of Buffalo Public Schools in terms of Just Buffalo Writing Center programming.

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Call for Young Writers: Water in the Desert

Water in the Desert logo - a collaborative project by Just Buffalo Literary Center, Ujima Company, and Squeaky Wheel
Call for Young Writers

Calling all young poets, storytellers, songwriters, and citizens (ages 12-19)! What brings you relief—if even for a moment—during these difficult times?

Whether in the form of a poem, spoken word piece, speech, essay, or original song, Ujima Company, Just Buffalo Writing Center, and Squeaky Wheel invite you to take part in Water in the Desert, a multimedia exploration of the concept of “hope in a time of despair.”

On some days, “water in the desert” might look like hope, like love, like unapologetic joy. On others, it might look like resistance, like the expression of outrage, or like the imagining of new ways of being.

How to get involved:

Sign up to attend a free, virtual writing session at the Just Buffalo Writing Center by emailing JBWC Coordinator, Robin, at rjordan@justbuffalo.org.

February 4th (4:30-6:00pm): Hope as Resistance (to Hope)
February 18th (4:30-6:00pm): Hope as Limitless Joy
March 4th (4:30-6:00pm): Hope as a Youth-Led Movement
Sign up for one session or all three! Attendance not required to participate.

Simply submit your writing via email to Robin at rjordan@justbuffalo.org.
Please include your name, age, and, if applicable, your school.

Deadline for submissions: March 6th, 2021

Why get involved:

Process, vent, connect, and write with creative peers in a welcoming space.
Selections from this project will be performed and presented at a virtual event by Ujima Company!
All participants receive a free paperback edition of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s novel The Water Dancer.