Introduction: Building
“Writing Barefoot” is the product of a creative writing workshop for young people, aged 7-15, which was held at the Dansville Public Library this summer, from August 1st to August 5th. Participants were led through a variety of creative writing and media arts activities by local teacher and writer Dan Folts. Funding for the project was provided by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts through the Decentralization Grants from the New York State Council on the Arts.
A Note from Dan
Since the main library was undergoing a building project this summer, it only seemed appropriate that the theme of our workshop be "building." The children visited various sites around town that are in different states of repair (or disrepair) and began to look at them closely and write about them, take photos of them, and record their own observations about them. It is my belief that, through these sorts of activities, students will develop an attachment to their historic town and develop a sense of place and perhaps put forth the effort to improve their hometown, as many admirable citizens of Dansville have done before them. It is an attempt to "plug" the brain drain of local communities through language and media arts.