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Blog Posts by Subject: Creative writing

Tween Writers Learn From Published Authors at the 67th Street Library's Second Imagination Academy

We just kicked off the 2nd year of the 67th Street Library's creative writing summer program for tweens: the Imagination Academy. This past week the focus was on historical fiction and a fantastic group of local authors came to share their insights with the kids. After a presentation by the author, which anyone is welcome to attend, the kids got to spend the rest of the afternoon crafting their own stories under the tutelage of these experienced and celebrated writers.

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Playboy: A Seductive Periodical or Champion of Sexual Liberalism?

Recognize the icon above? Perhaps you may not realize this but Playboy the publication, historically speaking, has been a leading magazine devoted to freedom of expression and human rights (to a certain extent). Founded in 1953 in Chicago by Hugh Hefner, Playboy has often been perceived as a "taboo" magazine based on its adult content. You may not realize this but many famous writers have contributed their works to the magazine over the past five decades. The magazine does not only contain photographs but also essays illustrating a segment of American social history.

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LIVE from the NYPL Hosts NaNoWriMo Writers

LIVE from the NYPL welcomes all National Novel Writing Month participants to come to The New York Public Library on Tuesday, November 20th for a Write-In. Spend a few minutes or hours writing in the Edna Barnes Salomon room to brainstorm, ponder, and work on your NaNoWriMo challenge.

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Kids are Authors at the 67th Street Library!

The fourth and final week of the 67th Street Library's Dream Big Imagination Academy has ended with a bang and several short stories! Each day from Tuesday through Friday these promising young writers met at the library from 1-4 p.m. as part of this free writer's workshop for 9-12 year olds. And with the support and guidance of several local authors, these up and coming talents realized their dreams as we spent the week celebrating fiction!

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A Snapshot of Your Life: Memoir Writing

Memoirs are the stuff of memory, or more specifically, according to Webster's Dictionary, a narrative composed from personal experience. In other words, a memoir is written from a person's recollection of a life experience. It might not all be exactly as it happened but, rather, how the author perceived it to happen. Do you remember the controversial “autobiography" A Million Little Pieces by James Frey? Mr. Frey presented it as an autobiography which is a factual account of a person's own life. It was later determined after lawsuits and an embarrassed Oprah Winfrey, who highlighted his work on her show, that in fact this book was a partly fictionalized memoir. 

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LiveStories: A Writing Workshop for Older Adults

In connection with the organization Lifetime Arts, NYPL will once again be holding some fabulous workshops specifically geared toward older adults. At St. Agnes Library, we will host a writing workshop called LiveStories: Using Writing And Drama to Share Your Personal Story. The workshop will be led by professional teaching artists Lauren Jost and Annie Montgomery, with whom I worked on a similar program last year at NYPL's Grand Central Library.

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Notes From a Life-Long Learner: Comedy Writing

"It's the jokes. I need the jokes."

This is something a young library patron said to me the other day. He wanted me to find him a DVD of Abbott and Costello’s greatest movies and routines.  I felt an instant kinship with the boy, whom I’ll call Hal. “Yes,” I thought as I took to the catalog. “It’s the jokes.”

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