It is without doubt that we live in a world that has grown far more accepting and nurturing for aspiring artists, but what hasn't changed is our natural fear of exploring our own potential. The Juniper Institute for Young Writers is a rare oasis for those who are looking for a place where the inhibitions of creativity are left at the door, and with no second guessing you are plunged into a world where the written word is not asked but demanded to soar to heights you have never seen before.
Many of us came to Juniper with a variety of worries. This was the real thing, with real writers. Were we good enough? Was our writing really not all our parents and friends had said it was? Were we only able to compose trite, over-tired clichés and drab metaphors? Whatever fears we came in with, they didn't last long. The camaraderie of the Juniper community was inviting and addictive, creating an environment where our hang-ups over our art, be it poetry or prose, or both, were entirely forgotten. Among other reasons for our collective confidence was the fact that Juniper lacks many of the things that put young writers off from joining creative writing classes or writers groups. For one thing, at Juniper there are no grades to distract the artist from the real goal: a better grasp of their writing, and of themselves as writers. Also, the instructors at Juniper do not preach at the other members of the institution about what the correct way to write is, or what ways are wrong. Instead, you are asked to dabble in all forms of writing, some of them time-honored, and other entirely new and exciting, and while the program is meant to challenge the young writers, the atmosphere is entirely non-competitive. Another aspect of Juniper that helped to make it welcoming to all its members was that prose was not placed above poetry as an art form, and nor was it the other way around, which is often times a breaking point for writers when they are told that the way they prefer to write is not as important as another.
From breakfast at nine in the morning until after the reading ends twelve hours later, you are dedicated to writing. Workshops, seminars, readings and interviews with some of the most outstanding authors of our time are just a few of the daily activities Juniper offers. During the 2007 session of the institute, we were given the opportunity to hear such authors as James Tate, Barry Hannah, and the late Grace Paley, all of whom were enormous sources of inspiration for us. Throughout the week we participated in seminars about everything from memoires to parody, with no one refusing to accept the challenge of a new writing frontier.
All in all, the Juniper Institute was a thrilling, rollercoaster experience, which if I could, I would repeat again and again for the rest of my life. My only regret is that it was over far too soon.
Alice Taylor Gear —'07 participant
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