The Marfield
Young Writers Program 2018
When I became a member of the Marfield Prize committee more than two years ago, I thought that the Prize should expand beyond the walls of the Arts Club. Previously the Marfield winners visited the School Without Walls of Washington, DC and talked to the students about their experiences in writing and reading about the arts. Certainly there was room to expand.
As Chair of the Marfield Prize, I proposed the Marfield Young Writers Program (MYWP) as a way to build the writing skills of local kids interested in the arts in the spirit of the Marfield Prize.
With the support of the Parkmont School and the help of Kimbely Schraf and Dean of Students Nijole Gedutis, we have begun the program.
Ito Briones
Chair of the Marfield Prize 2018
A workshop on portraiture.
Please welcome the members of
the first
Marfield Young Writers Program
Ameen
Mekdi
Butheyna
Noelle
Jacob
Yanna
Ian
Faith
Nick
Katia
Read some of the writings
of the students:
Below, Ian writes about the photographic image above:
“I don’t know what this is but I love the color. It is so good to me because it is random and bright. The black background and the colors pop out and it brings me up instead of down even though it is black. I see fire in the black spots. I see water and clouds. It is like I can see through the page. So dark but nice.”
Katia writes about the painting above:
“It’s a beautiful pale pink tulip with streaks of bright yellow and dark pink. The lime green stem that the flower is perched on is thin but sturdy as it holds the whole flower together.”
Yanna was instructed to write a description of the tulips pictured above as if she’s writing to her mother. This is what she wrote:
“Dear Mom, I saw these two elegant flowers and thought of you but I don’t know why. I also don’t know why I thought the flowers were elegant. So I decided to take a moment to just sit and admire every detail. As I admired the dancing petals and the wavy stems I understood why I thought the flower was so lovely. They danced in the wind with grace and their colors were mesmerizing. It was just so stunning. The pattern on the petals are as beautiful as you.”