When
We Were Countries :
The Hanging Loose Press High School Writing
Collection
When We Were Countries is a collection of extraordinary poems
and stories by 73 of the nation’s most outstanding high
school age writers. All the work first appeared in the special
high school section of Hanging Loose magazine, the standard for
cutting-edge work by teenage writers since 1968, offering young
writers the opportunity to have their work published alongside
that of professionals in one of the country’s oldest and
most distinguished literary journals. The poetry and fiction
in this volume, as in the previous three, has been selected by
Hanging Loose editors Mark Pawlak, Dick Lourie, and Robert Hershon.
And When We Were Countries incorporates a new feature not included
in the previous collections. Four accomplished poet/teachers
share their perspectives on how they have nurtured teen writers:
Marty Skoble teaches at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn;
Kathleen Aguero is a professor at Pine Manor College near Boston
and instructs teenagers every summer at the New York State Young
Writers Institute; Kip Zegers teaches at New York City’s
Hunter College High School; and Joanna Fuhrman instructs students
at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is also an alumna of
the magazine: Her own early poems first appeared in the Hanging
Loose high school section 20 years ago, and she has gone on to
publish four volumes of poetry, the most recent of which won
the prestigious 2009 Kinereth Gensler Award.
Poet and critic
X. J. Kennedy concludes his introduction to When
We Were Countries with these words:
“ .
. . any old futzers who assume that teen-agers nowadays spend all
their time at video games or texting away on their cell phones
will suddenly wise up and find reason to rejoice. To anyone over
the age of (maybe) ten, these stories and poems will ring true.
To any young writer: as you toil at your computer screen or paper,
this book will assure you that you are not alone. Teachers: you’ll
be heartened and encouraged by what this rich gathering proves
possible. Everybody: grab this book, if you know what’s good
for you. Devour it, digest it, and be regaled.”
ISBN: 978-1-934909-05-8 (pbk.) $19.00
ISBN: 978-1-934909-06-5 (cloth) $29.00
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SHOOTING THE
RAT: Outstanding Poems and Stories by High School Writers
Shooting the Rat is a collection of extraordinary poems and
stories by 93 of the nation’s most outstanding high school
writers. All the work first appeared Hanging Loose magazine's
high school section, the standard for cutting-edge work by teenaged
writers since 1968, including the annual Seaman Award winning
poems, and four poems that were later published in The Best
American Poetry of 1996 , edited by distinguished poet Adrienne
Rich--not an anthology of high school work, but a selection
from the best American poets writing today. Shooting the Rat
is the third volume in this highly praised series.
“All the concerns that course through
the lives of young people today have found their way into these
terrific poems and stories. This third collection, as the two
before it, most definitely should be in high school libraries
and in the hands of English teachers everywhere. If public libraries
have not added this to their collections they have been remiss.”—KLIATT,
September 2003
“…images leap from the pages
full of surprises, from classical allusions to brand name references,
presenting readers with sharps slices of life and a variety
of philosophical musings. The prose pieces – some stories,
other captured moments – showcase writers who have mastered
their craft and found their voices.”--
VOYA, October 2003 (Voice of Youth Advocates)
“All the selections are of high
quality and demonstrate a wide variety of poetic forms and themes,
making this offering a valuable addition to poetry collections
and a great introduction to the craft itself….”
School Library Journal, October 2003
TP: 978-1-931236-23-2, $16.
HC: 978-1-931236-24-9, $26.
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