BEYOND the BOOKS
Schmidt returns regularly to engage the prisoners in writing exercises and conversations, even using one (a writer himself ) as the inspiration for the lead character in his latest novel, Orbiting Jupiter. They give him reason to hunker down in the small, one-room outbuilding on his 150-year-old farm in Alto, Michigan — fully equipped with a desk, a lamp, stacks of books, a wood-burning stove, and a 1953 Royal typewriter.
Great Stories ‘All About Questions’
“I write for those who have nobody to talk to, for those who have nobody to share ideas with,” Schmidt said. “All forms of art
I
give you more with which to be a T’S LIKE clockwork. Led by
human being. They tell you that
armed guards, prisoners trudge
you’re not alone.”
into their individual cells, steel-
barred doors slamming securely behind them every day at 4:30 p.m. They are not seen (or heard from) for 14 hours, each locked up in solitary confinement until sunrise the next morning. Surely, the inmates have earned their sentences at the mediumsecurity facility for juveniles in northern Michigan. Armed robbery, attempted murder,
Schmidt, a professor of English
possession with intent to
at Calvin College in Grand Rapids,
distribute: The list goes on.
Mich., visited with Brunswick
They’re hardened and defen-
November to share stories, run
disturbing and devilish pasts. Not
writing workshops, and lead a
one of them has been visited by a
parent-son book club session
family member since being incarcer-
about his young-adult, historical
ated. But at their very core, they are
novel The Wednesday Wars.
human beings. Each has a name —
TOP Connor Choy ’24 eagerly raises his hand to offer an answer during a breakout session with two-time Newbery Honor Medalwinning author Gary Schmidt.
Will Newton ’24 appears to be enjoying the writing exercise at hand. RIGHT
ABOVE Johnny Saunders ’24 shares a creative story drawn entirely from an old photograph.
Middle School students in
sive young teenagers with (often)
He encouraged his captive audi-
Jack, Joseph, or Jamal, for example.
ence to move outside the margins
And they all have stories to tell.
of the popular old writing adage:
Two-time Newbery Honor
Write what you know. “Write what
Medal-winning author Gary
you want to know,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt is a willing listener.
“Everything else is just reporting.
After a chance visit to the facility
“Writing is all about questions —
years ago — at the impromptu
every good story begins and ends
request of three local librarians —
with questions.”
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