I’m a rising freshman, and a field I’d like to pursue in HS is creative writing, specifically in the realm of poetry. I write a lot (main inspirations are Plath, Sappho, Whitman, Vuong) and I’ve participated in a few competitions, though I’d like to branch out more in high school. I know there are several ways I can apply myself in the humanities, but I was just wondering if there were any well-known opportunities available. I’d like to be involved in publications, competitions, and maybe some writers’ workshops if any are open <3.
Some colleges offer online and residential writing programs for high school students. As an example of this, here you can read about Kenyon’s: Young Writers Workshops.
Hey thank you so much! I don’t think Kenyon’s one is open to freshmen, but I’ll look into other universities that offer these kinds of workshops. Are there also any well-known high school publications for creative writing?
I’d recommend looking at opportunities at Polyphony Lit - they have calls for submissions, competitions, and opportunities to train and be involved as editors.
Definitely submit your stuff to Scholastic Art & Writing. There are some great scholarships and some really good work that gets posted there. Young Arts is the other biggie. Both of those offer a lot of recognition.
A lot of colleges have summer writing camps. They vary a lot in cost and duration. Duke has an expensive one but right down the road 15 miles away UNC-Chapel Hill has a free one run by college students in the English and Creative Writing programs. Worth checking out programs near you and see what your family can swing. Highly recommend participating in something like this.