Listen here:
The 10th edition of the Cholla Needles Young Writers and Authors issue is out now. It includes poetry and art created by 138 students from Yucca Valley Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary San Jose Charter Academy and La Contenta middle school. Mary Cook-Rhyne is the Education Programs Manager at the Mojave Desert Land Trust, and she runs their Desert Discovery Field Studies Program – a once a week visit over 8 weeks where she teaches students about the desert that surrounds them, along with the animals and plants they share it with.
Part of that program is expressing feelings about the desert through art and poetry – here’s Mary Cook-Rhyne:
“The kids can develop their own poetry based on what they’ve learned in class. They can talk about the different themes, they can talk about spiders or rattlesnakes or the desert in general… their experience living here and so we take those poems that the students developed in class and we work with Cholla Needles to get those published.”
Cholla Needles publishes literary magazines and books by local and visiting writers who love the desert, along with hosting literary events and workshops for aspiring writers of all ages.
I spoke with Cholla Needles editor Rich Soos through email, and he says that his first opportunity to become a published poet was in a community magazine when he was 10 years old. Rich says this early opportunity gave his life direction direction, so he’s always made sure to have a youth issue in whatever poetry magazine he was working on.
Rich says that the desert inspires artists in ways that are unique to our area.
Rich Soos: “Here we know how much life there is between the plants, so we can see and feel the life between words in poetry. Folks who live in the city jam many words together in their poetry and keep the reader distant. In the desert we say more with less words, allowing readers to participate in each poem.”
The bright and cheery Autumn 2023 Edition of Cholla Needles featuring Young Desert Writers and Artists is nearly 100 pages of charming artwork and poetry that – for me – demonstrates how a child can show a pure appreciation for something, free of any cynical edge brought on by age and time.
Mary Cook-Rhyne: “You can see the desert through their eyes, and you can see that they understand the importance of conservation. They can see the beauty in it and they can connect with it in an authentic way, so that’s one of the things that the poetry does is it shows their authentic connections to where they live. I think that’s really powerful when just reading through all of them…”
You can purchase your own copy of the Cholla Needles Young Writers and Artists Autumn 2023 edition here on Amazon, it cost less than a latte and supports expression art and expression through the written word, of which I am a fan.
Links:
Buy a copy of Cholla Needles on Amazon
Cholla Needles literary magazine
Education at the Mojave Desert Land Trust
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