Coalfield Writers Creative Writing Camp Blog

I am From by Rachael F

coalfieldwriterscamp — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:41:35 +0000

I am from a neighborhood called City View.

I am from a neighborhood where you can see

the whole city on top of my hill.

I am from a place where you can smell

a sweet smell of flowers.

I am from a beautiful city.

I am from the taste of humidity in the air.

I am from a place where a lot of my family

grew up.

I am from my favorite place ever

I am From by Missy F

coalfieldwriterscamp — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:39:24 +0000

I am from my grandparent’s house

Sunday roasts with carrots and potatoes

brown beans and cornbread a fixture at every meal

bottled pop—Coke, Tab, and RC Cola

drinking from glasses that came from

washing powder boxes.

I am from long summer days

mosquito bites, too many to count

pink skin from calamine lotion

a squirt of Bactine on skinned knees

waiting until 4 o’clock to turn

on the radio—hoping Mimi

would dedicate a song to me.

I am from prime time television

with my Mimi—eating popcorn

every night.

Heehaw, All in the Family, too many

sitcoms to mention

no one sits in papaw’s char

until he goes to bed—around 8 o’clock

we could stay up as long as

we didn’t laugh too loud.

I am From by Michelle N.

coalfieldwriterscamp — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:34:44 +0000

You want to know where I am from?

I’ll tell you I’m from creeks and hollers

and good people. I am from dressing

up for church and Sunday dinners

with extended family and friends.

I’ll tell you I’m from Willow

Tree switches you pick out for yourself.

I come from the heart when I say I

am proud to be a coal miner’s daughter.

I’m from fresh laundry during on the

line and everyone sharing the chores.

I’ll tell you brownies, girl scouts, and

softball. I’m from mom being my

worst enemy and best friend. From

the bossy but ever loving

big sister to being the sister who looks

to two younger brothers for comfort and assurances.

You want to know where I’m from?
My answer seems an endless

journey of words and memories. I’m from

a happy childhood with an over abundance

of love from a tight knit family.

That is where I’m from.

Tempered by Time by David Vargo

coalfieldwriterscamp — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:26:01 +0000

I’m from what remains of an exploding star,

Tempered by time—

I’m from a new formed planet,

Tempered by time—

I’m from the first two humans of the human race,

Tempered by time—

I’m from many people who founded America,

Tempered by time—

I’m a new beginning born in West Virginia,

But tempered by time—

Soon I’ll be in a place where God want me—

Where there is no time.

I am From by Susan R

coalfieldwriterscamp — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:21:18 +0000

I am from a family of five. where I came from we eat supper at the kitchen table every evening before my dad went to work in the coalmines. I am from a Mother who was a stay at home mom and she was the best.

Where I came from families stayed together and prayed together. Where I came from we could go outside and play all day with my cousins and not come in until the Dukes of Hazard came on one of the three channels that we got from an antenna at the edge of the yard.

Where I came from having fun was when we rode our four-wheelers with all of my family

Day 5 and Final Wrap up

coalfieldwriterscamp — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:56:14 +0000

First I want to apologize to anyone who’s been looking for some updates to this page since Thursday. You haven’t gotten them, have you? That’s my fault. Last week was incredibly busy. My husband’s parents have been ill, so I’ve been helping out with them; his aunt came in from Florida, and we needed some family time with her, and to handle family issues. My mom’s birthday was this past weekend, so on that side of the family we did celebrations, and i had to get ready to attend a WV department of Education Teacher Leadership Institute that started Sunday afternoon. It turns out we’re working pretty hard here at this institute, and I don’t have a lot of extra time. So . . . I’ll keep putting stuff up, and I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to this blog sooner!

Friday, June 22, was the final day of camp for the summer of 2007. Friday’s are always half day sessions, and we had a good one. The teacher facilitators asked the students to do a writing that was sort of like a combination of list poems and poetry poker. They used different colored balloons to help the campers get into groups. Then they did a final publishing craft in which they put poems written on Thursday onto rocks. They looked super cool. Campers also got to finish their tissue box covers, if they hadn’t done that completely. By the end of the morning campers helped us get everything cleaned up and put away. That was a lot of work since we were in my personal classroom and we had to get most of the furniture and fixtures moved to the center of the room since LHS will be painted this summer.

Overall camp this year went really well. Kudos to Karen Dillon, Linda McKnight and Pam Roeher for putting on a fabulous program for the students. What was wonderful is they were already having conversations that involved phrases like: NEXT YEAR . . .

One thing I definately learned is that next year if we’re going to continue blogging camp we need to have a dedicated person whose job it is to do the blogging. It turned out to be a terrific idea, but more than I could handle on my own! As evidenced by how slow I’ve been getting the last stuff put up. I promise everyone — I WILL get stuff put up this week some time! I have not forgotten!

I Remember by Ronica H

coalfieldwriterscamp — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:55:33 +0000

I remember looking at my baby pictures

I remember learning how to ride my bike

I remember my first vacation

and it was to Tennessee

I remember the first day at the lake

I remember the first fish I ever caught

I remember going to the circus

even though I thought it was scary

I remember when I was baptized

But my favorite memory is yet to come.

Bio Poem by Ronica H

coalfieldwriterscamp — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:54:48 +0000

Ronica

Sweet, pretty, caring, respectful

Sibling of no one

Lover of Orlando Bloom, God, Family

Who fears the dark

Who needs the Lord and Love

Who gives happiness to everyone

Who would like to see heaven

Resident of West Virginia

Hensley

I Remember by Jonathan A

coalfieldwriterscamp — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:52:10 +0000

I remember when I met papaw

I remember my first dog

I remember my first day at school

I remember my first friend

I remember my second friend

I remember my third friend

I even

Remember my fourth friend

But my favorite memory is yet to come

Bio Poem by Jonathan A

coalfieldwriterscamp — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:51:40 +0000

Jonathan

Kind, thoughtful, smart, caring

Sibling of Tony

Lover of games

Who fears snakes

Who needs forgiveness

Who gives scares

Who would like to see Hollywood

Resident of West Virginia

Adkins