The Aftermath
Above: CELEBRATION: Senior Sports Staffer Michael Campbell shares his poem about what it’s like to be an one of few African Americans in Advanced classes at a predominantly minority school on Jan. 23 at Clarke Central High School in room 231. Campbell shared something personal about his high school experience with the students in the ODYSSEY Media Group to give insight into his life as a minority student in gifted classes. My piece was called Lost, it was about gifted classes I’ve taken at Clarke Central and how (my) experience has been different, letting (students in ODYSSEY) know that sometimes the minority in the room can feel targeted,” Campbell said. “Going into (the Creative Writing Project), I didn’t know what to expect and listening to (people’s) pieces was very mind-blowing (because) of how amazing the writers are in this classroom.” Photo by Aza Khan
In January students of the ODYSSEY Media Group participated in the annual Creative Writing Project (CWP), an opportunity for reflection and experience in creative writing.
The applause of students fills Room 231 at Clarke Central High School. Students wait patiently, shaking in their seats with anticipation as they prepare to share their work from the project that they’ve worked on throughout January.
The Creative Writing Project is an annual assignment that was first introduced 17 years ago by the ODYSSEY Media Group and iliad Literary-Art Magazine adviser, David Ragsdale, and the 2005-06 iliad Editor-in-Chief.
“I was working with the then iliad Editor-in-Chief Mary Grace Hager and we really wanted to generate a way (to get) submissions for the iliad, but (also), the lasting thing, to immerse the journalism students in a different side of writing,” Ragsdale said.
Left: CELEBRATION: Students of the ODYSSEY Media Group and Senior News Staffer Mykolas Kumpis gather in Room 231 at Clarke Central High School to celebrate the end of the Creative Writing Project. Kumpis shared a personal essay during the Creative Writing Project Celebration, Kumpis talked about privilege and how language has played a role in his life. “I shared a lot of things during the Creative Writing Project.” Kumpis said. “Having (my experiences) out there is tough to think about, but I hope it completes the picture of who I am and why I do the things I do and think the way I do, ” Photo by Isabelle Duncan
iliad Editor-in-Chief Kaija Gilbertson Hall, a senior, hopes the project is a reflective and fun process for students that may hopefully give them an opportunity to process their feelings.
“We wanted to make (the CWP) feel like an opportunity for students to write about the things on their minds. We don't want it to be something that (people are) dreading,” Gilbertson Hall said. “(Improving) as a writer and as a person is what we want from this project. We want people to practice genuine reflection on their (lives) and their experiences.”
According to Gilbertson Hall, the CWP creates new work environments and opportunities for everyone to connect with each other.
“Every student is put in a group, (and) we try and put them with people they don't usually work with,” Gilbertson Hall said. “Every team of people working together is better off knowing a little more about each other.”
Above: ONE-O: Students in the ODYSSEY Media Group’s Journalism I class join together for a meal at the culmination of the 2023 Creative Writing Project. The potluck-style meal, which accompanies the performances of self-selected writing pieces is a long-standing tradition. “The post-performance meal provides a space to debrief and engage in fellowship after sharing their pieces,” Ragsdale said. “It’s important for the kids to shift gears and just be with one another.” Photo by Aza Khan
At the end of the CWP, the class engages in reading a self-selected piece for the class, which culminates in a potluck-style meal. Senior news staffer Mykolas Kumpis expresses that the sharing of creative writing pieces and a shared meal was a great way to understand a complete picture of people within the staff. and connect.
“Hearing people's stories was very meaningful and did great things for team bonding,” Kumpis said. “(The) emotional delivery of everybody's pieces was invaluable, and I really appreciate that part.”
Ragsdale appreciates his students’ willingness to share and the support they’ve built with one another which creates an opportunity to share reflective and personal creative writing.
“I hope that we have built (a) community that welcomes and allows people that vulnerability in a safe and open space,” Ragsdale said. “From what I gathered based on the faces in and the audience and those who shared, that it was just that, a safe space.”
By Salai Diekumpuna