Inside this issue...
CLC interns 2024-2025
20 Years of SpeakOut! at the Old Town Library
CLC Pop-ups around town
Finding Freedom Through Words: The Power of Writing during Incarceration
Writer Profile: Collaborative Authors
Writer Profile: Cowboy
Writer Profile: Wayne
The Role of Speculative Fiction in Writing Workshop
The Growing Scarcity of Community Communication
2024-2025 interns
Five talented interns have been facilitating writing groups throughout Fort Collins -- already completing their first semester with the Community Literacy Center.
You will find some of their words in this newsletter -- and introduction to what they have observed, learned, discovered, and analyzed after their first semester in the field.
The CLC offers internships to students in their junior or senior year of pursuing their undergraduate degree, or to students in the CSU graduate school. The internships give students an opportunity to work with one of the CLC partners and lead their own workshops to underrepresented members of the Fort Collins community, and to deepen their knowledge of and experience with the practice of community literacy through reading, projects, and community engagement. Learn more about our internship opportunities by emailing clc@colostate.edu.
We will be accepting applications for interns for the 2025-2026 semester any time -- and up until May 2025.
CLC exhibits 20 years of writing and art in Old Town Poudre Library
A new exhibition at the Old Town branch of Poudre Library represents the creative prowess of the hundreds of writers and artists who have participated in SpeakOut! community writing workshops since 2005. The words and artwork featured crisscross human experiences with and expressions of love, loss, challenge, hope, and curiosity.
Check it out on the 2nd floor through January 25, 2025!
The CLC is in pop-up mode all over town.
In Fall 2024, the CLC designed and facilitated "pop-up" writing opportunities all over Fort Collins including the Old Town branch of Poudre Library, the CSU English Possibilities Fair, and History Harvest (3 sites/1 day) as well as a story exchange wall between Harvest Farm and the Harmony branch of Poudre Library. The pop-up writing walls include collaboratively designed prompts and invitations for participants to add their voices to public writing spaces. These are sometimes fun opportunities for expression and often driven by social issues that matter to our community (e.g., inclusion/exclusion, historical absence, local resources). In early December, Director Tobi Jacobi presented on the CLC "Story Exchange Walls" to 12 social studies teachers in the Poudre School District, extending our work into collaboration with teachers at local schools.
See some of our recent spaces for written expression below -- and stay tuned for upcoming pop-ups and story walls at Gardens on Spring Creek, FoCoMX, Poudre School District, the Fort Collins BookFest and more!
Finding Freedom Through Words: The Power of Writing during Incarceration
by intern Maddy King
Every week I go out to the Women's Community Correctional facility to participate in the creative writing workshop that we do with the Community Literacy Center. I write with women in Community Corrections and Work Release, which essentially consists of programs geared at helping women process and get through either their time in incarceration, re-entering society after a sentence, or as they deal with new or forthcoming sentences. For many women in incarceration, the concept of writing feels out of reach. They often don’t see themselves as writers - because that title is far too often ascribed only to those who are educated or experienced in the literary craft. In reality, they are all writers - and when they are able to view themselves as such are they able to use writing as a tool of recovery.
In the community justice system, we have seen writing emerge as a powerful form of recovery. It is a way to process trauma, confront personal histories and past experiences, and even envision a life outside of incarceration. Writing workshops within these systems offer women the chance to share their thoughts, emotions, and experiences - often for the first time without feeling any sort of judgment. The Community Literacy Center provides an outlet where women can feel heard and understood through our SpeakOut! workshops. Many of the women I have written with in these workshops have used their writing as an outlet to express their true feelings of their situation.
Yet, despite their participation, many women in these programs hesitate to call themselves writers. In these workshops they often start out timid, doubting their ability to actually put pen to paper or to share what they may have already written. Their work, however, always tells a different story. Each woman I have encountered in the SpeakOut! sessions has provided deeply insightful and moving pieces of writing, all completely different and so deserving of being shared out.
This fear of labeling oneself as a writer reflects a much larger issue not just within the prison system, but also in society as a whole: the belief that only those with formal education or a deep understanding of grammar, rhetoric, and literary devices can create meaningful writing. The truth, though, is far from that belief. Anybody and everybody can be a writer, regardless of background or technical expertise. For these women, it is much less about mastering the craft and more about reclaiming their voices.
Through our work with the CLC, we are trying to break this stigma. We want to show that great writing can come from lived experiences, emotions, and authenticity. The women in incarceration have shown me that, and they each have remarkable stories to tell that could be better processed when written. Through writing, these women are also able to tell their stories on their own terms - a privilege very often overlooked.
Writing as recovery is not just about the words on a page; it’s about healing. For women navigating the harsh realities of incarceration, writing can become a means of processing trauma, regaining a sense of control, and creating a sense of purpose. In a place where personal freedom is taken away, writing provides the space for emotional and mental freedom. SpeakOut! provides that space for women in incarceration, giving them room to grow and heal and eventually see themselves as writers.
Writer Profile: Collaborative Authors, by Cailee Chapman
In the spring of this year, I had the privilege of working as a volunteer with a group of writers at Aspen Ridge Recovery. The group loved collaborative writing and was more inclined to publish work if it was part of a group. The facilitator and I wanted the group to be catered towards them, a space where they could thrive and have fun, which is why we continuously brought in more prompts that required group writing, including the sentence-writing game.
This game required everyone to write a sentence or two and pass it on to the next person for them to add on to. In the beginning, writers were hesitant to try the game, nervous that their contribution would make no sense and potentially derail the story. Through encouragement and reassurance that there was no possible way to ruin a story that's purpose was to be collaborative and unique, they gave it a try.
This game led to the creation of the short poem, “October.”
The October sky was illuminated by sprinkles of pinks and reds. I looked up at it and wondered why it was so easy for it to express itself when I make too complicated for myself. I remind myself, suddenly, that our self-expression is judged from one glance by others. However, like the trees, it took months to prepare for that time, that version of ourselves. Is it easy? I remember that, also like the trees, I show myself when I am ready – when the autumnal breeze prunes my leaves, like how I surprise people with how much I can talk. Yet, the color fades as abruptly as it came. People love to talk and talk about how red I was, even when I was feeling green. It reminds me that perception is reality. Reality is what I choose to make of it. And it changes. So, I remind myself that I can change my mind; change my circumstances; change myself. I choose the colors I show, and I pay the most attention to those who show the most appreciation.
After the story was written, the writers were enthralled with the piece, and it showed them the value of working together to achieve success. We wrote many more collaborative pieces following this day and it even inspired writers to work with one another on stories outside of our sessions. Although no individual authors from Aspen Ridge were mentioned in the credits, their words and experiences live forever in harmony with those that were alongside them through collaborative writing.
Writer Profile: Cowboy, by Cade Zehner
Cowboy is a member of our writing groups at Community Corrections for Men, and is always a welcome addition. Having participated with the Community Literacy Center in the past, Cowboy knows our purpose and exemplifies the best aspects. The energy he brings fills the room every time he’s there as he comes with nothing but positivity and creativity. His appreciation for life, others, and art bleeds throughout the room and inspires us and our writing. Often giving wonderful advice to everyone who shares their work, Cowboy doesn’t shy away from wanting his own work discussed. Wanting to hear at least one critique or compliment from everyone present, Cowboy understands that writing can be as collaborative as it can be individualized. Peppered with allusions and metaphors, his writing brings a beauty along with it no matter the prompt. Often taking from or making references to the Bible, Cowboy fills his writing with his appreciation of life and the beauty in its simplicity. He is also very involved in the Fort Collins community. He talks about writing plays and performing them at FOCO cafe or talks about his experience throughout his time in Fort Collins, showing us the importance of reaching out to the Fort Collins Community. I have truly felt it an honor and privilege to work with Cowboy throughout our workshops this semester. The way he writes, the way he speaks, the way he interacts with the world and the people he encounters is nothing but inspiring. Cowboy sees beauty and peace in every aspect of life and dedicates himself to being a true artist and writer.
Writer Profile: Wayne, by Kylynn White
While interning at Harvest Farm, I had an amazing experience facilitating writing workshops that help disadvantaged men express their creative thoughts. There is a writer who has continuously attended these workshops and has shown strong personal engagement with his peers and his own writing.
Wayne was born and raised on a little beach and fishing town in Madeira Beach, FL which he references as Mad Beach. His father was a racecar driver and his mother was the head bartender at the famous Kingfish restaurant/bar. In the late 80s and early 90s, he grew up hearing stories about pirate lore, smugglers, rumrunners, and fishing captains out on the high seas for their "rightfully owed" bounty. One of his first jobs was cleaning shark jaws from fishing boats where he learned a lot of helpful skills that led him to his future job as a sportfishing captain where he did that for 15 years. During his career, he endured a lot of hardship, including the loss of his mother and best friend at the age of 20. Loss, unfortunately, became a commonality in his life and led him down a bad path of continued grief and all that it encompasses.
With all of the loss in the air, he continues to persist with life and finds extreme comfort in the water. He says, “After a category 5 hurricane, a pandemic, loss of my father, and last best friend standing, all ending with 600 days in Key West jail, I decided it's time for a change and a journey to shed the old me and grow anew.” He now aspires to head north to Alaska to pursue novel creation and publication and flying seaplanes.
He notes that one of his favorite programs at Harvest Farm is this creative writing workshop. He is learning many new skills that come with writing such as coming up with new stories and putting pen to paper. He says he didn’t know how creative he was or could be through his writing and that his peers around him have so many new perspectives he loves learning from. “It’s also the most I laugh in any class here in this program, it's simply fun.” Creative writing has always fascinated him because he studied many wise people in history by reading their work to understand their imagination. With writing, he can tune out the “radio chatter” in his head and focus on the real words that resonate with him. His favorite stories he’s enjoyed writing were the visual prompts that used three notecards to tell a story, reversing the order in which they lay, or having the opportunity to create evil fairy tales. He likes that these stories dig deep into his imagination and allow him to tap into his creative side.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time getting to know Wayne and his strong passions. I know that one day Wayne will have a novel published in the near future with hopes of reaching people everywhere. Harvest Farm has many creative people and I’m glad to share Wayne’s story so that many know how inspirational creative writing can be.
The Role of Speculative Fiction in Writing Workshop
by intern Danny Saldana
"Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy-Stories
Stephanie Tolliver, in her article “On Windows, Mirrors, and Telescopes”, expands on a longstanding metaphor established by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop that stories serve as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door, depending on the positionality of the reader absorbing the story and the author writing it. Dr. Bishop’s original model describes mirror stories as ones that reflect the lived experiences of the reader back to them; the window is a glimpse into a strange new world; the sliding glass door, an invitation to explore. Tolliver proposes a new addition to the metaphor: telescopes. She explains, “telescopes provide views of liberating futures and otherwise worlds. Through telescopes, [readers] will be able to see that those futuristic and fantastical landscapes are actually closer than they first appeared to be” (Tolliver, 30). For Tolliver, the speculative fiction realm is a means not only of escape, but also of aspiration for the disenfranchised, a way of dreaming of a better world.
Speculative fiction, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is “a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.” More colloquially, speculative fiction is identified as science-fiction, fantasy, and horror, with many permutations and combinations within. Although it is an incredibly famous category of fiction– many are familiar with Mary Shelley, Isaac Asimov and J.R.R. Tolkien, for example– it is also a category that is often overlooked in prestige and academic publishing worlds. As a result, anecdotally, I have noticed that many writing groups– unless specifically created for speculative fiction– do not often produce this kind of writing.
There are, I’m sure, many reasons for this. It can be hard to get started; perhaps people feel they won’t be taken seriously as writers; some genres– such as horror– may be triggering to read or write. However, this is an inevitable truth of literary fiction as well– writing will, in my opinion, necessarily bring up topics of trauma, personal truths, and other uncomfortable topics. Part of facilitating and participating in a writing workshop is to establish a community of writers that is strong enough to hold these stories.
Currently, I work at Acqua Recovery Center for people navigating addiction. I have recently asked them to engage with fantasy as a genre. At first, many of them stated they felt fantasy was childish, or naive. However, after they started to write, the conversation shifted. One woman expressed that it was nice to not dwell on her real life, and to instead write about something magical. Like Tolkien and Tolliver both observed, this was a special moment where speculative fiction empowered writers to explore.
I spent the first few weeks at Acqua searching for speculative microfiction (fiction that is between 1-2 pages) to serve as mentor texts for the prompts I would suggest to the writers. I found amazing flash and microfictions on sites such as Uncanny Magazine and Daily Flash Fiction, but I think that you could also pull from well-known speculative fiction, like a Star Wars novel or any short story from Stephen King. An additional challenge I would propose is to include texts with diverse points of view– find stories from queer perspectives, from authors of color, from women.
Speculative fiction invites writers to create worlds cut from reality’s cloth, but challenges them to conceive of ways things could be different. They are invited to become “more than”: more than human, more than whatever deficit-thinking identity has been imposed upon them. Speculative fiction asks what if, and I believe that is a crucial question for the writing workshops of today.
Works Cited: Toliver, S R. “On Mirrors, Windows, and Telescopes.” Council Chronicle, vol. 31, no. 1, 1 Sept. 2021, pp. 29–30, https://doi.org/10.58680/cc202131377
The Growing Scarcity of Community Communication
by intern Cailee Chapman
As the United States concludes a uniquely polarized election cycle, people everywhere are relying on various types of news to gain information; with most people looking toward big corporate news sites. We spent so much time looking at the national presidential election that we had little to no education on the local and state ballot measures that impact us more closely.
This is just one of many issues that reveals the growing scarcity of local and community communication and how national news is taking precedent. But what is community communication, why is it important, and how is the Community Literacy Center promoting that in Northern Colorado?
To begin, community communication can be anything from a local city newspaper, like The Coloradoan and The Rocky Mountain Collegian, or CSU’s own radio show, KCSU-FM. These outlets report on community events and issues that interest the surrounding residents. They are more localized and are not incentivized by profit or clicks. Sharing community events is their main focal point, like school events/awards, local elections, and environmental projects.
At the CLC, we also distribute a version of community-focused communication through the SpeakOut! journal. As interns and volunteers, we get to hear from real community members in small, writing workshops where we speak and write about local issues that are affecting us. These issues then bleed into the participants' published writings for all the community to see and discuss.
There are a few reasons literary community communication is important...
1. Bridges gaps: Many urban cities have newspapers that are run by houseless or at-risk individuals and these outlets help destigmatize and humanize. Writing bridges the gaps between the underserved and the rest of the community.
2. Division is reduced: The "us versus them" mindset is reduced when polarization is not the main focal point of the news. People write about the good things the community is doing and how we can contribute to that.
3. Builds trust: With nationalized news, we can often feel removed and distrusting of the source. Communal news is more personal and strives to connect people to innovative programs and show interest in local groups.
4. Links people: Networking is important, and one way that kind of connection can be accomplished is through projects in the community that share information; newspapers, magazines, etc.
Throughout my time at the CLC, first as a volunteer and now as an intern, I have seen the ways the program has strived to promote community writing and communication throughout Northern Colorado. We go out into the community and spread the word about our organization through events and workshops. This helps the community overcome the struggles they may have when accessing our journal.
One example was a few weeks ago when we did a pop up at a local library in Fort Collins. We encouraged people to write about banned books and what this practice means to them. Taking a nationalized topic and making it smaller, more communal helped people get a sense of what other people in the community thought of book banning.
The CLC has shown repeatedly that community communication can be done effectively, thoughtfully, and fun!
Many thanks to our community partners at:
Larimer County Community Corrections and Work Release
Acqua Recovery
Harvest Farms
New satellite programs at Mason Place and A Way Forward, Longmont
AND
The Dean's Office at the CSU College of Liberal Arts
The CSU English Department
Fountainhead Press/Top Hat
Poudre libraries
Do you want to volunteer to lead workshops?
Let us know at clc@colostate.edu and we're happy to talk to you! Or find one of our interns in the CLC office in Eddy 346A -- they'll be happy to tell you all about the challenges, the highs, and the lows (not too many of them!)
And take several copies of our journals to read, and then get them out into your world!
Please consider supporting our work!
The CLC creates alternative literacy opportunities to educate and empower underserved populations, and sponsors university-community literacy collaborations. Through our workshops, we confront stereotypes of at-risk youth, men and women who are incarcerated, and other young writers dealing with confinement. We circulate the stories and creative work of community writers through print and multi-media publications. We believe that such dynamic literacy activities are key to individual success, cultural awareness, and a more socially just world.
If you would like to become a volunteer in one of our programs, please let us know at clc@colostate.edu. We are always looking to add thoughtful volunteers to our team. We will begin a new semester toward the end of January -- let us know before then if you would like to join. We train!
Credits:
Created with an image by webkinzluva1598 - "bubbles rainbow macro"