SõL : Struggle of Our Lives

Life is more than just a journey. Life is a struggle filled with paths of pain and violence upon which we often lose ourselves. We have reached the fork in the path, and it’s time to choose. Will we take things as they are, or will we FIGHT? We have chosen to write, sing, draw, and organize for change. Here is our SõL, the Struggle of Our Lives.

SõL is the first installment in the Unspoken Minds series. Unspoken Minds is an ongoing arts-based initiative of the Multi Cultural Youth Project (MCYP) that showcases the talents of youth writers, musicians, and visual & performance artists. We believe that youth have the power to create solutions to community issues such as violence, and this project is just one step towards transforming our communities.

Submissions to SõL can be anything in print and/or scan-able artwork created by youth, ages 13-19. SõL will be a chapbook of poems/lyrics/drawings/photos/essays/articles/etc. that highlight the many struggles—from dating violence & domestic abuse to poverty & racial profiling—facing youth and their friends, families, and communities. We want to hear your story!

All submissions will be due on THURS, May 14th by 5PM. Please email stevehosikmoon[at]mcypyouth.org with your name, age, contact information, & submission. ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE MADE ELECTRONICALLY.

ONE VOICE 4/02/09

thanks to all those who came out to our benefit performance with Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai at Loyola...good vibes, good times! some YAWP!/MCYP youth graced the stage with some poems about home, our mothers, and coming from immigrant fams, and as usual Kelly killed it with her cunningly below-the-belt spoken word. some DOPE live art also "happened" by REVISE CMW and the Loyola Breakers crew brought the rest of us to our knees with their gravity-defying tricks. we also made some good connections with other down folks! we saw some of the same heads at MAASU just a few days later in Michigan for a poetry-based progressive ed workshop called "Manifesto for Myself." participants shared individual and (impromptu) group pieces that reflected on the values we bring into our community, family and self spaces. keep the ink flowing!

we're baaaaaack! YAWP!CiTY 2009!