Literary Activism Writopia Lab

Literary Activism Writopia Lab Book Riot is featuring ways to be a literary activist this week. See all the posts here. Weve been highlighting some literary activism here at Book Riot. Last month, for instance, Rioter Sophia Khan wrote about  #Read4Refugees.  In this piece, Im going to tell you a bit about Writopia Lab, a not-for-profit that gives workshops and creative writing classes to kids and teens. I spoke to the founder, Rebecca Wallace-Segall, about why its such a fantastic den of literary activism, and why its especially important now. Kids Feel Powerless Writopia Gives Them Power In the current political climate, kids feel as unstable as many of us adults do. Writopia Lab provides a whole spectrum of writing workshops and classes, including creative writing, essay writing, and political writing. Wallace-Segall told me that Writopia Lab provides a space where they can process the world and define their own arguments, their own perspectives. Pay What You Can Afford The kids and teens who attend Writopia Lab are getting instruction from professional writers, whether theyre grad students or working writers. Moreover, while all the kids receive the same professional attention in classes, they dont all pay the same amount. There is a sliding scale at Writopia, with four different price points. Plus, 20% of the kids who come to Writopia qualify for full scholarships. How do the kids feel about the difference in price? Theyre oblivious to this, Wallace-Segall said. The kids who have qualified for scholarships dont usually even know that the others are paying and vice versa. The classes provide a nice cross-section of socioeconomic status without the kids being aware of or being made to think of their own situations. The egalitarian approach within the classroom makes sure of this. We provide Chromebooks for each writer, she told me, so that no one will bring in a fancy computer or find themselves without. Freedom to Discuss Diversity All the workshops are diverse, with children and teens coming from various backgrounds and home lives. Writopia Lab encourages the writers to talk about their characters and why theyre presenting them as they do. Wallace-Segall  explained that workshop leaders are trained to discuss issues of racism, homophobia, or other biases that come up in the kids writing. Without judgment, the workshop leaders try to get to the bottom of the issue. They discuss the characters and their choices, backgrounds, and beliefs. Were truly a safe space, Wallace-Segall said. Every child is a product of their environment. And so, because they dont censor the children and teens, Writopia Lab encourages these young writers to process the issues, talk about them, and work through them. Want to Know More? Check out this amazing video created by Writopia Lab: