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minnesota writing project
center for writing
mwp.umn.edu
center for writing
mwp.umn.edu
Young Writers Conference, 2011–Group E
Rebecca Hanten, leader
Roelyn Rossett,
Murray Junior High
Emily Xiong,
Ramsey Junior High
Kaleab Asfoo,
Ramsey Junior High
Alicia Cruz,
Murray Junior High
Marcelus Ifonlaja, Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet 5-8
Dominic Uecker,
Humboldt Junior High
Hunted
By Roelyn Rossett
Murray Junior High
We quickly fan
away from the brutal hands of man.
Hidden beneath the forest brush,
our elders told us to hush.
Sounds of misery filled our heads.
As we lay here hoping this would not be our eternal bed,
men passed us by without a glance,
giving us another chance.
Silently dashing to and fro,
trying to stay low,
slowly we stopped to rest,
knowing we have passed our test.
Searching for a new hope,
Finding a way to cope
with the deaths of our brothers
the feeling of grief covers.
The forest was my home,
but now the evil tactics of man have come.
Anyone who shall stay is a fool
for the time of man is cruel.
Author’s Statement:
Roselyn lives in St. Paul with her mother and father. She usually writes about the bad side of man, because most of us are blind to all the “wonderful” things we do.
The Wolves
By Emily Xiong
Ramsey Junior High
The name of the wolves are what they exactly are:
Gray,
Jumping and pouncing,
Looking for their prey.
Seagulls flying,
Waves splashing,
Wolves hunting,
Snow melting.
Things like these caress the
Theme,
With the gray wolves
Looking mean.
The rocks there,
Branches bare.
The sun is up,
Shining everywhere.
Waves merge
Hitting the shore,
The canines are the main point.
No need to add more.
Author’s Statement:
Emily lives in St. Paul, MN with her brother, sister, mom and dad and her pet hermit crab, Mr. Krabs. She hopes to write poetry and publish a book some day with one of her friends.
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Untitled
By Kaleab Asfoo
Ramsey Junior High
There was a young boy, named Andy, who was inspired by nature. He did not have many friends - just one and his name was Tom Anderson.
The boy was in high school and his best friend, Tom, was a wannabe – someone who wanted to be cool. But he was a nerd, just like Andy Roberts. Tom had dark hair and a very round head. He was tall but not too tall. Andy, was also tall but not taller than Tom. He also had dark hair and very dark eyes.
On the first day of school, the two boys got off of the bus and headed into school. Tom said, “OK man, act cool. This is a new year – we’ve got to act cool.”
“Ok,” Andy said. “But just to remind you, you don’t get to be a jerk like you were last year. So, don’t act like a wannabe like last year.”
“OK, It’s a new year, a new school, and a new reputation, so I’ll just be a new guy.”
When they finally got through the school doors, they saw many students they did not know so Andy said, “I thought you said that most of the students from our old school were coming here.”
“They are,” said Tom.
Then Andy said, “ Oh, I know because you were so uncool that the friends you had lied to you and said that they would be coming to this school, so that you would not go to the school that they would be going to.”
“No, man. I told you the students from that school love me oK.
Tom said, “Yeah, right.”
_____________________________
So they went to their first class which was art and after that Tom and Andy’s old school friends came in and suddenly both Tom and Andy knew that this year was going to be fine.
Author’s Statement:
Kaleab wants to be an actor. He likes to write movies.
What Would You Want?
By Alicia Cruz
Murray Junior High
Wow, really wow. That’s all that was floating around in my head when I saw the icon house, and I mean that in a good way, too, even though it was like a replica of what a real house was supposed to be. Now I don’t know what kind of house you prefer but this house was a sustainable shelter! Yes, it’s true. This house was very nice.
Many people don’t like this type of house or they just are indifferent about it. They aren’t interested in the fact that it’s mostly solar-heated and energy efficient, because it’s not their style; they’d prefer the more glamorous house with fifteen bedrooms, three kitchens, an indoor pool and an outdoor pool with the classiest brands of everything. That’s ok, though. It’s understandable. What person doesn’t want to show off what they’ve been working for their entire life?
With certain things, I can have some difficulty making decisions because of how it’ll affect my future. I don’t think I want to just live in one place my entire life. I would love to see the world and everything that’s in it, but the icon house caught my attention as soon as I walked to the entrance and saw the picnic table out in front being showcased by the sun. I thought, “What a cute house!” Then when I walked through the clear sliding door, I saw the stove and mini kitchen and as I went further in, I saw a table with wooden fold-out chairs that looked like the kind of cozy chairs you put on your patio and then I saw the plasma TV just sitting there with a nice comfortable couch right in front of it, and I knew I loved it.
Anyways, right next to the kitchen was the living room with the tiny gray-tiled bathroom with a window, which I found kind of weird, right in the shower. The bathroom had a sliding blue door! Another weird thing was that the door for the bathroom was also one of two doors into the bedroom. It works, though, because the one bedroom was right next to the bathroom. Convenient, huh?
The bedroom was basically just a space with just the right amount of room for a mattress for two and a little closet-dresser thing right next to the bed. Right outside of the bedroom was the living room and dinner table. The bedroom was next to a desk, of course, where you’d do your work.
Imagine a house this small with everything facing in the same direction with windows on only one side. Picture a house with almost all the cabinets, table, chairs, drawers, and a couch and nice white walls all being hit by the face of the sun and no light bulbs are being used. Only at night would you use bulbs – the fluorescent ones that cost less, last longer, and conserve energy.
The house looks like it would be the kind of house that would feel small and have cold seeping through it – well, it actually isn’t. It is very well insulated. There is a thick layer of wood and then, rough cotton-like insulation, so right away you forget all about that frigid air outside and just feel the nice warm air caress your face as you walk in.
In simple terms, the house is wonderful! I really hope to live in a house like this one day. I heard that a house like this is pretty pricey, so I hope that with time I can take a house like the icon house under my wing and make it a home. It would be great because it is sustainable. For some reason it makes me feel like I would be doing some good but also be safe.
Author’s Statement:
My name is Alicia Cruz. I live in St. Paul, MN. I love sports and am pretty active. I like to write about experiences I’ve had or things I’ve seen though all I need is patience.
The Tale of Red Coyote
By Marcelus Ifonlaja
Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet 5-8
I had never been more confident in my instincts before. The porcupine and I stared each other down with great animosity. We both felt as though the other was in quite the pickle. Before I go onward with this story, I’m gonna tell you how we got there.
[One week earlier]
I woke up in my grassland home on the prairie. Being a coyote, I’m just about always hungry, so I set out to find some food. I saw a little mouse running about but I decided not to attack it for it was too petty.
I looked around some more and I saw a huge porcupine. I snuck up behind it, stalking it as quiet as a fuzzy slipper yet as precise as a sniper’s scope.
As soon as it paused, fearing me, I attacked. It’s spikes popped up so quick I didn’t have time to withdraw my attack. The spikes pierced my face and snout so hard I felt as if I had been mistaken for a caribou during opening season. It wasn’t enough to stop me from going after food however.
I noticed many of the porcupine’s spikes were now missing so I yanked four of them off my face, and when he started to run, I tackled him as if I was in the playoffs for the NFL. I shanked him with the needles from my fall and blood started gushing from his sides. I knew what this meant. When he was done yielding, I ate him. He was so delicious, I ate him piece by piece to savor the flavor.
Then I set out to find a new land to take over. I saw a prairie but there was already a coyote on it. This one was a gir. I approached her very slowly trying to look the best I could.
“T ain’t seen you around here before,” she said.
“Well that’s probably because I have never visited here before, madam.”
“So, I take it you are lost then?”
“No, I’m just looking to capitalize on new territory like yours.”
“Oh, really? Well, you’re gonna have to fight for it.”
Before I could attack, I felt sharp pricks up and down my sides. I turned around to see a porcupine attacking me!
I slashed at him, but the coyote bit my tail. Now I’ve never felt double-teamed like this before. The brutality of the assault was too much for me to bear, and I passed out.
I woke up six days later to find another porcupine along with the one who had attacked me. They stood in front of my face. I could feel their breath on my snout. If they were to put up their spikes, I’d be one dead coyote.
So I solemnly asked, “What is it you want with me? I have done nothing to either of you.”
One spoke, “You have killed and eaten our mother.”
I apologized and then popped up and slashed one porcupine with such intense speed my arm knocked him to the ground. The other ran away. I was sure the one that I had hit was dead, so I left it. I crawled looking for the other porcupine when I saw the female coyote again.
“Why, it’s you, Your face is still battered from the attack.” We took off together after the porcupines, wanting our revenge.
Which brings me to today. Because of a disagreement, I was forced to kill and eat the other coyote and continued after the porcupines on my own. And here I am – back to the beginning, staring down another porcupine with great animosity.
Author’s Statement:
Marcelus resides in St. Paul, MN. He has one brother and loves writing stories to engage his reader.
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Bobcat
By Dominic Uecker
Humboldt Junior High
It’s just a bobcat
Its fur is red
From the blood,
You know
He’s a foe in your neighborhood
So hide your kids
And hide your wife
And run
Run like the speed of light
Author’s Statement:
I like to rap. This rap is about the bobcat
