Writing for Social Change

NOTE: I originally wrote this post for a blog called Bark: A Blog of Literature, Culture, and Art. If you'd like to read it on that site, click here. Bark is the official blog of the MFA program in creative writing at Eastern Washington University, where I earned my MFA in poetry, and for which I've written blogs for the past two years.

You know how, as writers, we often feel ineffectual and separate from all those other people in the world? Okay, maybe I'm just speaking for myself, or for poets. Alright, for myself.

Regardless, the question of the usefulness of writing is one that I've been asked more than once in more than one venue. I remember just a few months ago one of my well-meaning developmental writing students came into my office, presumably to cheer me up or something, when he said something like, "Jaime, I have to be honest with you. You've seemed really tired this quarter, and I just don't know if teaching writing is worth wearing yourself out over. I mean, seriously, I'm not going to use this stuff outside of school, and I don't think most other people do either." Sigh. He was right, I was tired, but not of teaching writing or even of hearing students tell me things like that. He was, after all, telling me the truth as he experiences it.

Besides, there was some wisdom in his statement. A lot of students really don't use the academic skills we teach them: MLA format, essay organization, how to locate a scholarly article on a library database.... But, whether they know it or not, they do use the less tangible, more cognitive skills we teach them: to look deeply at a text, to analyze an argument, to question authority.

These are the reasons I enjoy teaching college composition, but I often struggle with the applicability of it. When, as my student asked implicitly, will they ever use the academic skills I'm charged with teaching them? When will essays ever become relevant to anyone outside of academia?

I know of at least two places (I'm sure there are more.) where essays are not only relevant, they are promoting social change. The first is my own, newly started nonprofit organization, Dream School Commons. The second is Eastern Washington University alumnus Ross Carper's website, Beyond the Bracelet.

Dream School Commons started as a tiny seed of an idea about five years ago after I'd watched a documentary about TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) called TED: The Future We Will Create. To summarize, TED is a nonprofit that organizes conferences about "Ideas Worth Spreading," as their tagline states. Each year, TED grants wishes to people who have ideas about how to change the world for the better. That wish-granting includes getting to present at one of their conferences, winning $100,000 to help kick start your idea, and getting access to thousands of influential people who might be willing to help you get your idea off the ground. One such example is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which started as a TED Prize-winning wish.

So, after learning about TED, I wondered in my most idealistic way, if I could go to a TED conference, what would I wish for? Dream School Commons is the answer. It's a place for people to contribute ideas, stories, and research about how to re-imagine education at all levels in America. It's a place to read about others' experiences in education that might inspire new ways of going about the business of educating people. Our ultimate goal, after what will probably be years of idea collection and research, is to find funding and start our first Dream School. You can read more about our mission here.

Also, I should note that the lovely Amaris Ketcham (EWU MFA, 2010) designed our logo and banner.

If you're interested in contributing, visit our story page, read our article submission guidelines, or participate in the discussion forum. Also, I should mention that this site isn't just for seasoned writers. We want to hear from school-aged children, those who've had negative experiences in school, teachers, business owners, the guy who walks down your street everyday collecting cans. Schools have touched all of our lives in one way or another. What's your story?

Another website that's turning writing into a tool for social change, Beyond the Bracelet, asks writers to tell "stories of the movement from awareness to action."

Founded by Ross Carper, former EWU Writers in the Community leader, and edited by Ross and Sarah Hauge (EWU MFA, 2010), this quarterly web magazine seeks nonfiction that tells the raw and dirty truth behind making a difference in the world.

They are currently accepting submissions for their inaugural issue, and the deadline is November 30, 2011.

Beyond the Bracelet also presents a quarterly challenge with each new issue: to take a step "toward more action in response to the stuff you care about." Beyond the Bracelet also shares a directory of websites that are "trying to create positive change." This site is more than a literary magazine; it's a call to action, and it encourages each of us to do what we can with what we have.

By the way, I should make a quick disclaimer about writers and writing, one that I probably shouldn't have to make for those of you who know me. I value writing just for the sake of writing. I believe in its healing and connective properties. I understand the ways that putting words on a page can help us make sense of the world. Writing in itself is a social and often defiant act, but if you ever find yourself feeling a little under-appreciated for all the work you do as a writer, find a space like Dream School Commons or Beyond the Bracelet, and write for social change. It's good for the writer's soul.