Torn between poetry and fiction? Wandering in a world of metaphors and similes? Aching to capture your family’s stories, but just can’t make it “write”? Join us and National Book Award winner Thanhha Lai, for an in depth look at prose poetry. Lai is the author of Inside Out and Back Again, which was described by Kirkus Review as “an enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny novel in verse” and is based on her own journey, from a comfortable home in war torn Vietnam to the unfriendly classrooms of Alabama. She will walk you through the crafting process and read from her award winning work (and did we mention there’ll be ice cream?).

This is a free workshop open to ALL interested New York City high school and college students (and parents!). Please contact our youth programming coordinator, Tara Sarath at tsarath[at]aaww.org or (212) 494-0061 to reserve a space. Or you can RSVP to this event from our Facebook Fan page at http://www.facebook.com/lyceum.ideas. This program is made possible by the generosity of the Ford Foundation.

Thanhha Lai was born in Vietnam and moved to Alabama in 1975. Before pursuing her MFA at New York University, Thanhha covered the cop beat for the Orange County Register in California. She lives in New York City with her family and teaches writing at Parsons School of Design. Inside Out & Back Again is her first book. Visit her author website at Harper Collins for more about Thanhha and to read an excerpt from her work.