psiiliterarycontest.learningstorm.orgPSII Literary Contests – Soon to be presitigious

2021 PSII Fiction Contest Essays, Stories, and Educational Material The PSII Literary Magazine Newsletter Search for: On Literature and Our Objective Literature is a powerful method of expression. When conversing, words flow from your mouth like a waterfall—one after another. Contrastingly, when writing there is a peculiar block, call it a dam if you will, between your brain and the page. The dam is nothing other than the tactile experience of typing or writing. This state of imposed exactingness that writing necessarily entails is precisely why writing is important, why literature is revered, and why it is imperative that we try to teach at least fundamental literary skills to people of all ages and walks of life. Being encouraged to be methodical, to redact and edit, will naturally incite you to flesh out your ideas and to, in turn, reach greater understanding. *** Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” —Isaac Asimov *** Thus, it should be a truism that when we write, we think; that, in effect, the difference between thinking and writing is not so disparate after all. That is the notion which PSII literary contests wishes to predicate itself upon. We want to encourage writing of all kinds, from all people, of all ages—and, by doing so, encourage them to think. That might come as no surprise to those of you who already know about our school and its mission, which began with the realization of our principal and founder, Jeff Hopkins, that the current, most-widely practiced educational model does not spur students to think, rather to do surface-level learning. Such a realization is admittedly not all that new; however, what is new is that he took that realization, turned it into a far-fetched dream of an entirely new kind of school and then acted upon it. Thus, does PSII exist; thus, am I writing this. *** The aim in life, if reached or not, makes great the life: Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to fate!” —Robert Browning *** Boldness, authenticity, and taking action are, therefore, cornerstones of our system and of what we wish to promote here at PSII literary contests. There is no better way to write, or for that matter anything, than doing it. A writer writes—therefore, if you wish to be writer, write . And a writer’s toolkit is words—therefore, read . If you write and read with purpose and care, you’ll be golden insofar as your writing is concerned. Moreover, here at PSII literary contests, we maintain that in thinking meaning finds its roots. Here at PSII literary contests (and at PSII as an educational institution) we encourage critical thinking as to find deep meaning. The two are inextricably linked. Now, enough with all this stuff about learning, meaning, and thinking. What is PSII literary contests, and what are we offering you? *** Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” —Jane Yolen *** As aforementioned, we want to encourage authenticity, boldness, taking action, and the free exchange of thoughts and ideas in hopes of improving the overall quality of our collective thinking. We hope to offer many services: starting with both writing contests and a yearly magazine containing a broad range of writings by no other than learners and educators at our school. We hope that, over the years, the project’s scope can grow to become a true literary force in our community—if not, elsewhere. So we do implore you to stay, to get connected with us, and to partake in our contests, and by proxy our vision and objective. If you believe literature is meant to be the free exchange of ideas, to express ideas and concepts, to facilitate deep thinking, then you will be in good company here. Hopefully, we will grow to offer new services and improve the ones we currently offer. *** You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free so drink. Drink and be filled up.” —Stephen King *** What a lovely note to end on! Click here if you’re interested in contacting us. Copyright 2024 — PSII Literary Contests . All rights reserved. Sinatra WordPress Theme Scroll to...