This three-week series will be led by young Scholastic Awards winners who have explored topics of grief, bereavement, and resilience through a variety of writing genres. Join us, our talented workshop facilitators, and fellow young writers from across the world in developing your writing skills through these workshops sponsored by the New York Life Foundation.
Schedule
November 1, 7:00 pm EST: Navigating Grief Through Personal Essay & Memoir with Sarah Fathima Mohammed and Donna Gaffney
November 8, 7:00 pm EST: Navigating Grief Through Poetry with Aanika Eragam and Donna Gaffney
November 15, 7:00 pm EST: Peer Review Session
This workshop series is free and open to all young people.
Art and writing work about grief and bereavement created by teens in grades 7–12, age 13 and up, may be eligible for a $2,000 through the New York Life Award, sponsored by the New York Life Foundation.
About the Facilitators
Aanika Eragam is a sophomore at Yale University, originally from Georgia. She served as the 2021 National Student Poet for the Southeast, through which she led poetry workshops at the Atlanta History Center and the Jacob’s Ladder School. At Yale, she serves as an Associate Editor for The New Journal and performs in WORD Performance Poetry.
Sarah Fathima Mohammed is a first-generation Muslim American and a first-year student at Harvard University. Poetry has become a world where she can speak freely, holding her voice in her hands while excavating the histories of the women in her family. She writes poetry sourced in grief, faith, and longing because, for her people, these emotions are inherited. She hopes to share with fellow immigrant women from conservative cultures how storytelling can be activism and how poetry can turn “otherness” into power.
Dr. Donna Gaffney, a psychotherapist, advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurse clinician, and former faculty member at Columbia University, has long addressed crisis, loss, and grief in the lives of young people. She integrates writing and literature into her practice and educational programs. Donna has designed writing prompts, workshops, and discussion guides for books and films. She works with The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the New York Life Foundation on the Kai’s Journey book series and their new graphic novel, Lost in the Middle. Donna holds master’s degrees from Teachers College at Columbia University, Rutgers University and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. Her post-graduate work includes the Children and the News Fellowship at Columbia Journalism School. Donna is the author of The Seasons of Grief, Helping Children Grow Through Loss, and received the 2021 APNA Award for Excellence in Practice – APRN. Her book Courageous Well-Being for Nurses was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in September. For more information, visit Donna’s website.
Featured Image: Gabrielle Broome, Denial, Painting. Grade 11, Salanter Akiba Riverdale High School, Bronx, NY. David Wander, Educator; NYC Scholastic Awards, Affiliate. Gold Medal, New York Life Award, 2017.