Students' Work Selected for VSA arts' Online Literary Journal

WASHINGTON, May 19 VSAarts-writing-award


WASHINGTON, May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- VSA arts announced today six young writers whose short stories and poems have been chosen for its online literary journal, "Infinite Difference." The journal is part of VSA arts' Writing Project and showcases the creative works from middle and high school students living with disability. This year's theme was "Encounter" -- the students wrote about an experience they had with a person or group different from themselves, or about a fictional character.



Now in its sixth year, the Writing Project encourages creative writing in public schools. The project has five elements -- a call for writing, "Infinite Difference," a writing gallery, resource books, and online "writing spotlights" -- to help educators teach language skills and writing via comprehensive instruction. As part of the call for short prose and poetry, students can either respond as part of a classroom project assigned by their teacher or work on the project at home. Selected students' work appears in "Infinite Difference."



"The Writing Project is a great resource for educators, in both teaching disability awareness as well as the language arts," said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. "Strong language skills are the building blocks for success in life, and this project helps students learn how to be more thoughtful communicators." 



A distinguished panel of judges reviewed submissions from students ages 11-18 years who either have a disability or have connections to people with disabilities. The stories and poems were judged on their creativity, proficiency, adherence to theme, and presence of personal style or vision. The awardees are:



Alex Cutshall, 16, of Purcellville, Va., "Day of Peace" 
Leila Khansa, 16, of Lafayette, La., "Kaneshiro's Gift" 
Genevieve Lane, 16, of Salt Lake City, Utah, "Like She Always Did" 
Austin Neff, 17, of Canyon County, Calif., "Her Eyes" 
Hannah Rich, 17, of Potomac, Md., "One Word" 
Rebecca Stanton, 16, of Lafayette, La., "Zip Code: 70503" 




VSA arts' online literary journal also provides an interactive forum for young writers where readers can post comments, thoughts, and questions for the authors.



For more information about "Infinite Difference," visit http://www.vsarts.org.



VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities.  VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities.  Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in 55 countries around the world.  VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  For more information visit http://www.vsarts.org.









SOURCE  VSA arts