DIY Graffiti - The 8th in the Re-Draft series Eds Tessa Duder and James Norcliffe (Clerestory Press/School for Young Writers, 2009) ISBN 978-0-9582888-3-5
Anne Harré
DIY Graffiti editors Tessa Duder and James Norcliffe have put together a stunning array of writing from young New Zealanders ranging from Year 9 through to first year University students.
As Tessa Duder states in her introduction "...at some point we needed to remind ourselves that these writers were all young people still at school or in tertiary study..." A sentiment that I would echo wholeheartedly. There are too many contributors to list, but to mention a couple of examples, take Amy Peppers's ‘Twilight':
I'd take the haloed
light and stretch it
like string. I
could use it as floss,
wind it around my teeth
and radiate stars from
my lips.
or Mary Dennis's ‘Precious Gaps':
Teach me how to speak in another language. Teach me
the skill of saying thank you in a way that means
something, the technique needed to say I love you
in a way that demands to be neither mirrored nor excused
This is a collection that the contributors can be very proud of; it is articulate, mature writing that demands to be read then re-read.
Re-draft (the competition) is open to contributors between the ages of 13-19; you can find further information at www.schoolforyoungwriters.org
