Tuesday, May 21, 2013

"Mojo" by Colin Allpow




*buzz* the monitor flicked one.

“Are you awake, sir?” A voice inquired from speakers adjacent to the screen.
“Wwhat?”

Mojo puffed out from his half asleep head.
“You’re late mister Oj” The voice from the speakers announced sternly.

“What the Tharb are you talking about? And who is this?” Mojo asked as he injected a vile of his morning Locom into his tentacle, in an attempt to wake up faster.
“This is Comu and I would advise against the use of such foul language when addressing a highly ranked official such as myself.” The voice responded.
 
“Official my toch! Tax collector doesn’t count as an official. Besides, I definitely already paid my taxes." Mojo retaliated, the Locom was just starting to kick in. "I was chosen especially by the grand court of Hoka the third, of the great Ok dynasty! And I have it on record here that your last payment of seven million Grix was paid in counterfeit Griz made out of tin. Now we don’t want to make accusations, but it would be quite the coincidence if you somehow ended up with 7 million counterfeit Grix by accident,” Comu reported.

“Mister Om, are you saying that you think an upstanding citizen such as myself,” Mojo began sarcastically, “would do something so egregious?”
“I don’t think I’d call a repeated felon an upstanding citizen.” Comu stated coldly.

“Fair enough.” Mojo agreed, “Is it a felony to use counterfeit money to pay your taxes?”
“Actually, I believe it’s four felonies, mister Oj.” Comu answered.

“That’s almost an even hundred.” Mojo thought aloud, “I think I’ll skip out on these taxes so I can hit the milestone.”
“I can’t begin to understand your reasoning mister Oj.” Comu sighed, “Is that really decision?”
“Krinsc yes it is!” Mojo exclaimed, “too bad evading arrest will make the one hundred mark pass so quickly.”
“Sir, we have your location right , how do you plan to evade arrest?” Comu asked unconvinced. “...sir.”
There was no answer on the Mojo’s end.

“Not again!” Roki screamed, “How did he escape?”
“I don’t know Master Ok, he was under Locational Surveillance. The LS Team has printed a copy of their log on Oj.” Officer Shinu explained as he handed the records to his superior.
“Oj has escaped us too many times before.” Roki lamented.

‘If it’s any consolation,” Shinu stammered, “Oj always does his time for every crime he commits.”
“Yes,” Roki agreed, “but only after he turns himself in. His sentence is not a sentence if it’s on his own terms. I want him captured Officer In. I don’t care that he is your wife’s brother, he’s a criminal.”
 

more than 20 cycles old.
“There’s not much we can do while the church of Ruese and the private institutions have so much control. All our revolts have been crushed and we’re all dying in places like this.” Mojo answered solemnly, “I want to give up, but then I’m still stuck under the feet of every upper middle class carpem and his stoch, and then I’d just be a compliant slave. I truly am ready to collapse.”

“I was always taught to not to give up hope.” The young carpem said to Mojo in an almost comforting manner that also begged for confirmation.
“What’s your name?” Mojo asked.

“I’m Theto.” He replied.
“Well, Theto, stick with that hope of yours. I hope you never give it up, because even if you’re wrong, it’s better to die wrong and hopeful than right and hopeless.” Mojo replied in as encouraging a tone as he could muster up. “I think my time is coming to a close. In one week I will travel to the capital at the black hole Floom and allow myself to dissipate in the middle of the Court of Ok, before Hoka the third himself.”
The group was silent for a moment. Many silently agreed with Mojo’s course of action, while others pondered what they might say to change his mind, nevertheless no one spoke. As the silence continued to ring, Theto approached Mojo and placed his tentacle on Mojo’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this.” Theto spoke softly.
“But I do.” Mojo responded.

Theto remained silent, unable to come up with the perfect words to sway
“Yessir. I know sir.” Shinu promised as he saluted Roki in the traditional manner of wrapping one’s tentacle around himself and hopping and then he exited Roki’s chamber.
Meanwhile, Mojo was busy hiding on the edge of a wormhole, along with several of his fugitive friends. The wormhole provided the perfect cover because while he sat between two points of space, he would register in two locations on the LS

records and both positions wouldcancel out as, “errors.”
“So, tell me Mo, how did the Locom work?” A fellow criminal asked.

“Like a charm,” Mojo sang, “One injection into the Trace Organ and it went on overdrivebefore shorting out. I’m surprised they still allow the stuff on the market. Especially in this Galaxy,where they think they have the right to add organs too your body for their own personalbookkeeping.”
“If they took it out, people would figure out that it did something, they are better off keeping it legal and leaving the few of us to utilize it.” Another chimed in.
‘“You toch!” Mojo retorted, “Do you really think any of those numbminded idiots noticesanything more than a foot from their face?”

The felons all expressed concurrence.
“I’m done with all of it!” Mojo suddenly proclaimed in a burst of frustration, “They think they own us and they treat us like slaves. We’re carpem too, right? We all live and breath. They lookdown on us but they created us. This society punishes random carpem and keeps our facespressed against the ground until we give up and live out the rest of our lives like animals. Of course I counterfeited my taxes! I had no money to pay with if I had wanted to!”
“But what can we do?” A younger carpem wondered aloud. He was probably no 

Mojo.

“The meeting of the Court of Ok will begin immediately.” A voice boomed from a Carpem sitting in the throne on the back corner of the heptagonal room.

The carpem who spoke seemed far too small to produce such a low, ringing voice. He had ruled before him and her father had ruled before her. Hoka did

not ask to be born into such a powerful lineage, but he certainly enjoyed it.
Several news cameras were present, as was always the case at these meetings. The Ok Dynasty did little to hide its evil from its citizens, knowing that more than enough of them wouldn’t pay enough attention to care.

“First item on the floor,” Councilman Joku announced, “Diverting tax funding of education to the subsidizing of Crooth farms. All in favour, say ‘rok.’”
The room echoed with a chorus of “rok’s.”

“Second item on the floor...” Councilman Joku began before being interrupted by a crash at the front of the room.

The large audience of councilmen and women turned to face the door and found that it had been kicked down by none other than the wanted criminal Mojo. The council gasped and screamed in fear for their lives, as several security carpem converged on Mojo, prepared to disintegrate him with their batons.
But, before any of the security guards could reach him, Mojo reached the center of the room and shouted loud enough for all the news cameras present to hear, “This is what you turned me into!” and on the last word he let go and fell into a pile of dust.
Just as he collapsed, Officer Shinu barged into the court, baton blazing.

“What happened? Where did he go?” Shinu shouted.

“He’s...right there.” One of the councilmen peeped.

Shinu looked down at the ash in the center of the room and stared in silence.
 

Printer's Row Lit Fest: June 8th & 9th, 2013



The Printer's Row Lit Fest is a summer festival in downtown Chicago celebrating all things literary. Meet professional authors and other book lovers, pursue rare, classic, first edition, and signed copies of your most beloved books, and much more.

Find more information, including a schedule of speakers, here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/printersrowlitfest/

"Louder Than a Bomb" Poetry Slam Documentary




Louder Than a Bomb tells the story of four Chicago high school poetry teams as they prepare to compete in the world's largest youth slam. By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, the film captures the turbulent lives of these unforgettable kids, exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa. Louder Than a Bomb is not about "high school poetry" as we often think of it. It's about language as a joyful release, irrepressibly talented teenagers obsessed with making words dance. While the topics they tackle are often deeply personal, what they put into their poems—and what they get out of them—is universal: the defining work of finding one's voice.Check out the trailer above.

"Collision" by Colin Allpow

Equal and opposite

two forces will cancel

but they are still there

still pressing

until one gives

forces rarely

remain the same

forever

one grows

one shrinks

one wins

one loses

this is the way of the universe

this is the way of people

a collision and a give

Monday, May 20, 2013

"Teen Ink": A Lit Mag for Teens, By Teens!

Check out www.teenink.com for info. on Teen Ink, a national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums.  Teen Ink magazine offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens and has the largest distribution of any publication of its kind. They depend completely on submissions from teenagers nationwide for their content. The magazine is run by the non-profit Young Authors Association.





View the work of teens across the nation, and submit your own for consideration! You may be featured in the magazine or online!



"The Cricket and the Butterfly" by Imogene Gonzalez


The Cricket and the Butterfly

 …And so the cricket, fearing that this meeting would be their last, turned to the caterpillar and said, "I love you, but you're changing whilst I remain as I was. This cannot continue." The caterpillar looked at his love sadly before he too spoke.

"My darling, I feel the changes you speak of. But know this: I may soar through the skies in the future, but my heart will always be grounded with you." They embraced with passionate sorrow, and parted ways.

The caterpillar pined for his love as he transformed within his chrysalis, and the cricket longed for her caterpillar as she chirped her nightly song.

He laughed and played with his new butterfly friends and she knew that she was just a plain cricket and could never compete. She smiled sadly, accepting the fact that their love truly was over; he was no longer her caterpillar. She returned to her cricket home and married a cricket husband. The now-butterfly married a lovely butterfly bride and all was well.

But neither could deny that their love was far from them. Hers soared through the endless blue sky, and his was firmly planted on the rich ground.

It was torturous and agonizing; breath-taking and surreal. It wasn't perfect.

It simply was.

Watch "STAND" by Cornelius "See" Flowers

Cornelius "See" Flowers performed for us at the SSC Literary Festival in 2012 at Hillcrest High School. Check out his inspirational poem, "STAND."

 
Want to meet professional writers, poets, and other artists? Become a Letterhead! Join EPCHS's Literary Guild!

"The Eye of the Storm" by Katie Hohman

       
It starts slow,

quietly creeping up on you

you hardly notice

drip drip drip

 

Suddenly,

you’re different

not just you

but everything

nothing seems worth it

pit pat pit pat

 

Then abruptly it’s there

the whirlwind hits you

it crashes in from every angle

submerging you

drowning you

leaving you lifeless

no mercy, just feelings

you can’t control

whish

bang

CRASH

BOOM

you call for help

no one notices

realizes

cares.

 

And then it’s gone.

poof

it disappears

it’s vanished

you’re saved from yourself

but the scars are still there.

And there they’ll remain

hidden

drip drip drip
 
 

Check out Perre Shelton: "Dandelion"

In April we attended the SSC Literary Festival at T.F. South High School. There, we met with guest speaker Perre Shelton, a T.F. South alum, high school teacher, and very accomplished spoken word poet. Check out the video below to see Perre perform his poem "Dandelion" as part of HBO's Def Poetry Jam.


Want to meet professional writers, poets, and other artists? Become a Letterhead! Join EPCHS's Literary Guild!

Welcome!

Welcome to our brand-new Letterheads blog!

Who are the Letterheads? We are the students (and trusty sponsor) of the Evergreen Park Community High School Literary Magazine. This is a space where students come together to share our own creative writing (you know, the FUN kind of writing you don't get to do all that often in school).

We publish two (well, okay, maybe more like one-and-a-half) magazines each year, full of entirely student-created stories, poems, essays, and artwork. We also host events and workshops around the school, and attend festivals with other schools, where we collaborate with other teens and listen to guest speakers.

We will be sharing our work on this blog before and in between magazine publications. Evergreen Park students, please feel free to share your ideas with us! Email mdurkin@evergreenpark.org to submit your work to our blog and magazine.