Anna West, WordPlay
Project Director and Mentor Writer
Anna i
s a
poet, educator and community arts organizer. She has innovated
youth writing programs in diverse community settings for eight
years. She served as the Program Director of Young Chicago Authors
from 2000-2005 and was the co-founder of YCA’s Say What Magazine
and Louder Than A Bomb, the highly acclaimed Chicago Teen
Poetry Slam. She holds a B.A. in creative writing and has taught
community arts pedagogy at Columbia College Chicago and Chicago Arts
Partnerships in Education. In August 2004 she was featured in
UR
Magazine as one of thirty Chicagoans under the age of thirty who
has shaped the city’s cultural life. Anna recently returned to her
hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
anna.write@gmail.com
Chancelier
"xerØ"
Skidmore, WordPlay Mentor
Writer
Chancelier
“xerØ” Skidmore is a poet, educator and organizer from Baton Rouge.
He is the Artis
tic Director of Baton Rouge’s
City at Peace
teen theater ensemble. He is one of the primary organizers of a
weekly open-mic and poetry slam, The Eclectic Truth and has
represented Baton Rouge at the National Poetry Slam since 2000,
serving both
a coach and team member. He has been ranked twice
among the top five poets in the United States through that
competition. He has facilitated
writing workshops for youth
and
adults throughout Louisiana over the past five years.
bootstrang@aol.com
www.xeroskidmore.com
Latasha
Weatherspoon, WordPlay Mentor Writer
Latasha
Weatherspoon is
a native
of Ville Platte, Louisiana. She
is a mentor, educator, and poet. She is also an
active
member of the Baton Rouge Poetry Alliance and has served on both
the 2005 and 2006 Baton Rouge National Poetry Slam teams.
Latasha is a recent graduate of Southern University where she recieved a BS in Speech Language and Pathology. She is
currently a mentor writer for WordPlay as well as a Community
Mentor for Project Rise.
t_weatherspoon@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/latasha_weatherspoon
Anna Hirsch, WordPlay
Program Manager
Anna
Hirsch is a fiction writer,
book artist, and teacher. She is currently a member
of the
Louisiana Delta Service Corps, serving at WordPlay, and a recent
graduate of Louisiana State University where she earned an MFA
in creative writing. At WordPlay
she oversees WordSkills Tutoring and Academic Advising and Teen
Publications. She is also the website czar.
mysongtrabong@gmail.com
www.songtrabong.squarespace.com
www.myspace.com/songtrabong
Dr. Susan Weinstein, WordPlay
Advisor
Dr.
Weinstein is an assistant professor of English and Director of the
Secondary English Concentration at Louisiana State University in
Baton Rouge. She conducts ethnographic research into the writing
practices of teenagers and young adults. Dr. Weinstein's work has
been published in
English
Education,
Pedagogy,
and the
Journal of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy
(upcoming). She has presented papers at numerous national and
international conferences. Finally, Dr. Susan Weinstein, head
of the LSU Secondary English Education Program, serves as an advisor
to WordPlay. She monitors the workshop activities and offers
suggestions to shape WordPlay curriculum and events.
sweinst@lsu.edu
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