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Dave Eggers offers youth writing workshop
Dave Eggers, he of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'' and "What is the What,'' is a mensch, plain and simple. Besides his many literary accomplishments, he is also one of the founders of the nationwide literacy program 826 National, which runs writing, tutoring, and publishing programs for underserved students aged 6-18 in a half dozen cities like San Francisco -- where it all started in 2002 as 826 Valencia -- L.A., New York, Seattle, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Boston.
To support the program here, Eggers will make an appearance at 826 Boston at 3035 Washington St. from 7-9 p.m. tonight to demonstrate one of his group's most popular programs for the city's elementary and middle-school students, "Storytelling and Bookmaking.'' Boston public school classes regularly visit the center on field trips to participate in "Storytelling,'' which Eggers helped develop.
Basically, the kids are guided through the process of writing and rewriting a story or screenplay, and when their work passes muster 826 Boston's book binder produces a published copy of each student's writing. The whole thing is very theatrical, with volunteers playing the roles of the Illustrator and Typist who help the students develop plot and characters, under the watchful eye of the grouchy editor Klobberstein, who keeps in contact via walkie-talkie.
The event is open to the public and free, but donations are appreciated.
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Nicole Lamy is editor of the Globe's Books section.
Jan Gardner writes the "Shelf Life" column for the Globe's Books section.
