Our students have been writing books. Oodles and oodles of books that, perhaps, you've not yet read. Oodles and oodles of books to go with noodles and fresh bread while cooking up stories about Venice, Italy. In the process, the adaptable writing crew of 826LA West proved that they could add biographies to a metropolitan guidebook, showcase architecture, and channel the famous Italian canals—all activities where they, as residents of America's Venice, could already trumpet their background knowledge.

Xena reported on art from the Biennale di Venezia. Andrea told us that when we visit the Mediterranean, we should keep our eyes peeled for the cormorant, the kingfisher, and the little egret. Julio, Kelly, and Malik sent in dispatches from the gondola docks. And by the time volunteers got to read the final Venice stories in book format, 826LA student authors had partied in style with carnival masks and penne bolognese.

Our warm-ups were the two chapbooks released by these same students earlier this year, part of 826LA in Venice's Dogtown Books imprint. One, Logomisia, is conceptually subtitled The Hatred of Words, and it contains pieces like this:

People hate writing because they think it's so dumb, and because it's boring and because you have to write stories that have to be long. Those are just a few of the things that they do not like. They also don't like writing because they want to go home fast to play, but they can't because of boring writing.

But it's not that way for me, Uriel. I think writing is fun, and I love to do it.

Logomisia's follow-up, We Attack You With Tiny Claws, is notable for having the story of an exceptional lemur. Drop-in tutoring has become a laboratory for student ideas, a testing ground for brave tutors, and a place where, Monday through Thursday, talented sculptors of the written word are doing their homework.

Two Saturdays ago at the Watts Coffee House, students from Locke High School welcomed guests from all over Los Angeles to the opening of Everyday Extraordinary, an exhibition of their writing and photography produced in conjunction with 826LA and the J. Paul Getty Museum. Nearly one hundred visitors, including Councilman Bernard Parks, congregated for food, conversation, and the chance to view the student work. The response to the exhibit has been overwhelmingly positive; several art aficionados at the opening inquired about purchasing copies of the prints, and Watts Coffee House regulars love what the photographs have added to the atmosphere.

Originally scheduled as a two-week exhibition, Everyday Extraordinary will be open for another week! Friday, May 2, will be the last day to see the photographs. If you haven't already, head down to the Watts Coffee House (map here; phone 323.249.4343) to check everything out.

The Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a leader in convenience retailing, sells everything you need before you take a road trip through the fourth dimension. You can grab time-machine fuel, a can of mastodon meat, and a souvenir t-shirt in one quick stop. All proceeds from the store go toward the writing center resting directly behind it.

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team at the Mart. If you are in interested in a paid position selling time travel supplies (while wearing period dress) please attend one of our group interviews for Sales Associates at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart.

Tuesday, April 1 @ 6PM
Saturday, April 5 @ 10AM

1714 W. Sunset Blvd. Echo Park, CA 90026

If you are interested but cannot make either of these times, please contact Christina, our Store Manager.

Comedy by the Numbers:
Book Reading and More!
One night only!
Monday, March 24, 9:30 p.m.
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater
5919 Franklin Blvd., Hollywood, CA
For reservations: 323.908.8702 or online

All proceeds to benefit 826LA!

Come see Professor Eric Hoffman (Mr. Show) and Dr. Gary Rudoren (So I Killed a Few People) explain, in exacting detail, how funny works. They'll present selections from their new McSweeney's book, Comedy by the Numbers, along with guest readers including Bob Odenkirk, Jay Johnston, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Brian Posehn, Paul F. Tompkins, and Andy Kindler. Selections from their how-to humor bible will include #46—Fart Noises, #92—One-Downmanship, and #101—Pie in the Face.

Buy your tickets soon, and help support 826LA!

On Saturday, young authors convened for When Wallets Eat Words, 826LA East's first workshop ever.

All thirteen students learned how to put together stories in one way or another. Screenwriter James Ponsoldt gave them a rundown on carefully piecing together beginnings, middles, and ends, but he also demonstrated rather unconventional methods—the surrealist game Exquisite Corpse and its cousin, the old parlor game Consequences. Below is a story written in the latter manner.

Ryan Seacrest met Gwen in the sewers.
He said to her: "YOU MAKE ME SICK."
She said to him: "YOU SHOULD GIVE ME FLOWERS."
He learned a lesson.

By afternoon's end, the writers felt confident enough to create their first commissioned works. The graphic artists at Poketo have promised to produce designer wallets based on the students' stories (which will form the inner lining of each wallet), and each student proved worthy of the task, taking everything learned that afternoon and crafting his or her own magnum opus.

In a few months, when the wallets are ready, they will be sold, and the proceeds will benefit student programming at 826LA. Of course, every student will receive a wallet lined with his or her story. Once the young authors land paying gigs, they'll have places to put their hard-earned cash.

On Monday Oscar walked through the Echo Park Time Travel Mart and into the writing lab, thereby becoming the first ever drop-in student at 826LA East. That's right: after-school tutoring has officially begun in Echo Park! We've had an amazing first week in our new space, powered by a dozen or two very eager, very bright students, and an equally eager and bright cadre of tutors. We already have stories about kitty cats and racecar drivers, talks of a music video, a deceptively simple sibling rivalry piece, and even a short story called "No Way," a spin-off from a short story also called "No Way."

We also held our first two Storytelling and Bookmaking field trips this week, and the resultant masterpieces couldn't be more wildly different. In Fred Junior Risks Death to Find His Family, our hero escapes the confines of life in a cup and ventures out through the desert, equipped only with four rapidly drying towels. In Dailycracker Rescues Princess Jackie, a robot supercracker is torn between two love interests: a robot butterfly and a princess who turns into a great white shark.

Each student reviewed his or her own book, and they found their work praiseworthy. The critics have spoken:

If you read this book, you will feel excitement, sadness, and happyness. You would like this story because it's about a monster that misses its family. He is no ordinary monster. He is very nice.
—Marcela

This is the first book she ever did. Terrific! Super!! Go Sandra!!! Super job!!!!! Good work! Go reading!!
—Sandra

We're still looking for more fantastic volunteers to help us out with these programs, so feel free to drop on by Echo Park, or send an email to iwanttohelp@826la.org!

Thanks to all of our volunteers, the literally hundreds of people young and old who make our various projects at 826LA possible. The elementary and junior high school students of Venice's neighborhoods have just finished another compilation of writing to wrap up their fall season, filled with tutor photography and volunteer-assisted work. It's called An Infinite Map, a collection of narratives set in and about Los Angeles' best and worst places, and each 826LA author is proud to see his or her name on the back cover (also volunteer-designed). The next time you come into our center, whether for an introductory tutor session you found through iwanttohelp@826la.org, a monthly reading night, or just to say hi, take a look at An Infinite Map's pages to see what we do best.

A BIG thanks to all of you who bought Wilco's tour posters, and a HUGE thanks to Wilco for donating the proceeds! The band is sending us a check for $3,723 that'll go straight to supporting our student programming. It'll be a big help to us as we start drop-in tutoring on the east side.

We've released our newest book!

Written by students in the Humanitas program at John Marshall High School, The Elotes Man Will Soon Be Gone is an anthology of narratives, essays, and more that captures what life is really like for students in Los Angeles today.

The collection includes

• an ode to Kurt Cobain: Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" reminds me of a time when I was mad at my mom. When I would try to explain something to her, she would think I was wrong or dumb. She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak, the song says. (from "Come As You Are," by Paulina Perez)
• a gut-wrenching fantasy: There is this pain in my stomach—cold, raw, relentless pain—churning the insides with such extreme intensity—it's the longing, dear—eating away my guts until I am sure there will be nothing left by morning— (from "(Very) Personal," by Alexei Petrov)
• and musings on the places we call home. The following is from "My Second Home," by Rebecca Bowden.

My grandmother refers to herself as an “antique merchant.” Most of her sales take place on eBay, where what she auctions off is not determined by whether it belongs to her, but by whether it can fit in a cardboard shipping box. Most of her sales consist of items she buys at garage sales, or presents, already given to one of her children the previous Christmas or birthday, and now taken back. Her "selling off the house" (as my grandfather calls it) is probably due to her rigorous thriftiness. Once, when I was about nine, we were birthday shopping for a friend when I asked her for a Barbie furniture set I had seen on the shelf. I quickly realized I was wrong for doing so when my grandmother, in a hurried and almost hysterical tone, erupted into an explanation of her entire current financial status and why she couldn’t buy me the toy. After listening to a ten-minute lecture on my grandparents’ fiscal history I finally interrupted and told her, “You could have just said no.”

Get your copy today in the 826LA Store.

The great folks from Paperblanks have donated over $37,000 worth of their beautiful journals to all seven 826 writing centers. These journals will be put to great use by our tutoring and workshop students who are learning each day that the writing process involves lots and lots of paper. We are honored to receive this wonderful gift!