Christina Luk is a reporter for the Los Altos High School newspaper, The Talon. The following is a condensed version of an article published in the March 13 Talon. For more Talon stories, visit www.lahstalon.org.
Students at Los Altos High School had the opportunity to interface with professional writers during the 27th annual Writers Week Feb. 27.
Dedicated to engaging students in English through the experiences of novelists, poets and journalists, classes are handed over to guest writers for a majority of the period. The writers discuss how they became writers, organize workshops and discuss their craft. There are several evening presentations and the annual poetry slam where students showcase their talents.
Freshman Borna Barzin, who experienced Writers Week for the first time, “loved” being able to have writers speak to him.
“I only heard one writer so far and I thought it was great,” Borna said. “I liked getting advice from successful writers. I think he gave us all some good advice for writing our own English assignments.”
With writers ranging from acclaimed author Mary Roach to award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, students were exposed to different avenues of writing along with the speakers’ life stories.
“Vargas was very genuine and down to earth about everything he said,” sophomore Salim Damerdji said. “He was such an easy person to relate to, and the English Department should be applauded for the hard work that goes behind a program that takes advantage of these opportunities.”
Senior Laurel Saldinger found that writers were easy to relate to when they talked about their life experiences.
“One writer … talked a lot about the job process and being rejected,” Laurel said. “He was definitely the best writer I’ve heard so far. He didn’t set out to be a writer, but he came up with a great idea, and the opportunity to write his book just arose.”
Students received a refreshing yet educational break from their usual English classes through hearing the stories of how writers developed their writing skills and followed the literary path in life.
“I’ve always been interested in writing,” sophomore Alex Barreira said. “But there was always so much pressure from the critical grading in English class. Those presentations definitely left me with a positive thought knowing that all those writers found success one way or another. All the authors would talk about how they started out as regular people who picked writing and went with it, and now they’re successful. They were all very happy, and hearing them talk about how wonderful it is to be a writer made me feel like there was more of a chance for me to do so.”
Even students who aren’t avid English enthusiasts like Alex enjoyed the stories of the writers and understanding the practical applications of what they’re learning in school.
“Our teachers are always telling us that we’re going to use (writing) skills someday, but we don’t ever see them out there in the professional world,” Laurel said. “It’s really interesting to see writing and the things we do or don’t do in class out there in the professional world. But what I got most from the writers was learning about the real world we work in, the importance of persistence and living through rejection to keep being able to do what we love.”
Students participated in the 10th annual Poetry Performance Competition in LAHS’ Eagle Theater March 1. More than 25 student poets presented original poems in front of students, faculty and other members of the community.
“I’m always amazed at the amount of talent in our school,” senior Yasmeen Serhan said. “The poetry competition’s a nice touch to Writers Week. Not only do we get to celebrate famous writers, but the writers in our very own school.”
“With Writers Week, there was more of a relation between what we do now in school to the rest of the world,” Alex said. “It lets us see a little more outside of just getting a good grade in school. It lets us see more of what we can do later in our lives.”
