SEQUIM — The latest thing for teenagers at the Sequim Library will be “super fun and relaxing,” predicts Antonia Krupicka-Smith.
It’s the Teen Writing Group that will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the library at 630 N. Sequim Ave., and it’s free in all ways, added the youth librarian.
“If you’re into songwriting, rapping, comic books, anything like that, that’s writing, too,” Krupicka-Smith said.
The coach is Sequim native Nellie Bridge, who Krupicka-Smith said is “laidback and encouraging.”
Bridge moved back to the Olympic Peninsula recently after leading writing workshops at Evergreen State College in Olympia, at New York University and at a New York City public middle school.
Write freely
“[The group] is going to be a safe space to write freely and share new work,” Bridge said, adding that no previous creative writing experience is needed.
“Teens may have not yet decided whether or not they enjoy writing,” she said, “so I like helping them explore that question and watching them decide for themselves.”
She asks that participants bring pens, a notebook and some loose-leaf paper for the 90-minute workshops.
Other meetings
After this Wednesday, the Teen Writing Group will meet again Feb. 15 and March 21.
Bridge, who is volunteering her time, said she likes working with teenagers because of their candor — while she knows it’s not always easy to distill one’s thoughts on paper or screen.
“Sometimes the hardest thing for any writer is to begin,” she said.
“It’s natural to feel vulnerable when baring yourself in words.”
Bridge is confident, though, that these three Wednesdays will be an adventure.
“We will surprise ourselves with what we write,” she said.
For more details about the Teen Writing Group and other activities at the Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks and Clallam Bay libraries, visit the North Olympic Library System website at www.NOLS.org.
The Sequim branch can also be reached at 360-683-1161, while the youth librarian can be emailed at Akrupickasmith@NOLS.org.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.