Welcome to Creative Writing
We also do whole class assignments, and every returning student has a poem due early in each nine weeks and a short story due at the end of each nine weeks. Current due dates were September 9 for the poem and October 1 for the story with research.
Level 1 or first year assignments are available on Ms. Sara Finnegan-Doyon's page. Elective middle school assignments include a short story due October 7 and a settings journal due October 6, besides the in class writing we have been doing, with focus on character and setting.
The period eight arts block for high school has opened up some collaborative possibilities. Early in September, Ms. Dubrava and Mr. Kaplan, theatre, swapped classes to give writers a taste of theatre and drama students a taste of writing. We have since started a three-session period 8 collaboration with theatre which wraps up October 15. On September 17, high school writers and visual artists took a mini-field trip to Cherry Creek Mall to combine drawing and descriptive writing. VA Bryon Christman, and writers Leah Kuehn and Sam Miller record the same scene at the entrance to a mall restaurant and Jason Abrams, Becca Gallegos, Arianne Thomas, Aaron Roper and Brendan Craine observe another scene in the photos below. We'll meet with VA on October 6 to select the work to be finished, and again on October 22 to present the final drawings and writing combined.
Applications for Creative Writing auditions for 2010-2011 will be available in late October or early November. Watch the DSA home page for audition schedule announcements.
The annual fall event, Telling Stories, this year has as its theme: Fish Out of Water. Mr. Hammond of Instrumental Music and Ms. Dubrava have met with Jennie Dorris, our visiting artist for this performance, and put together a rehearsal schedule that begins September 15 and culminates in a single night performance Friday, October 9. Participation is open to any student in the afternoon high school classes. This show combines original writing with original music, has sold out the last two years and just keeps getting better.
Program News
We are proud of our 2010 Creative Writing seniors who have a link at the bottom of this page. Photos and writing are posted now.
Creative Writing has undertaken two collaborative projects in the last three years. The first was the music and words collaboration with instrumental music (Telling Stories) that has its third annual performance this year. The second, begun last year, was converting Calling Upon Calliope, the literary magazine, into a partnership with visual arts. We plan to continue both collaborations in 2009-2010.
Patricia Dubrava teaches advanced, senior seminar, second and third years and MS writing electives and Sara Finnegan-Doyon teaches intermediate/advanced, college composition and women's literature. Pat_Dubrava@dpsk12.org and Sara_Finnegan-Doyon@dpsk12.org
The Creative Writing program at Denver School of the Arts accomodates 6-12th grade student writers, chosen through an audition process. The department is designed for young people with a passion for Creative Writing. Students work to further their education and deepen their knowledge of themselves on paper.
An after school club called INK, inc. sponsors Calling Upon Calliope, a literary magazine of writing and visual arts from students at DSA and alumni. INK, inc. members design, help to select work, produce and market the magazine.
Creative Writing is proud to keep in touch with its graduates. In six of the last eight years, Creative Writers have been valedictorians or salutatorians of their graduating classes. They attend good schools throughout the United States including St. John's College, Lake Forest, Duke, Howard, Cornell, Stanford, Annapolis, NYU, Syracuse and Oberlin, as well as many of our fine Colorado schools. Some travel the world while others have become models, teachers, thespians and law students. The Creative Writing program builds a community of writers. They enhance the sense of language and the magic of words in each other. These connections remain well after graduation.
Creative Writing Links
Creative Writing Handbook
2010 Creative Writing Seniors Writing Samples and Photos
2008 - 2009 Picture Book Project