Creative Inklings

Angela Knight

Take a few NWP TCs, add three or four more teachers, about 30 kids, and give them five days that are modeled after the month-long Summer Institute. Daily morning writing prompts, mini-lessons, writing groups, sacred writing time, camp t-shirts. Writing marathon on Tuesday; published by Friday.

We even hired a few returning campers; these Junior Counselors were our “Returning Fellows.” We took all the desks out of a classroom and added carpet, pillows, and bean bags to remove the traditional school feel of this writing camp.
Creative Inklings camps expanded this past summer for Hamtramck students entering fifth-twelfth grades. One week for middle level campers entering 7th-9th grades, one week for entering 10th-12th, and two weeks to serve a combination of the three Hamtramck elementary schools for entering 5th and 6th graders.


The high school marathon was on the campus of Wayne State University.




Here are a few of the highlights from the elementary and middle level writing marathons to Greenfield Village, Hart Plaza, and Belle Isle. The poem was written by a 7th grade boy named Aseel. The story was written by a 5th grade girl named Amina.

Thomas Edison
(Written from the point of view of his wife)

You crazy, crazy old fool.
It isn’t working.
I should have known this.

You can’t make light during dark.
It’s impossible.
But NO, don’t listen.

Especially to your wife.
I’m trying to help.
You’re wasting your life
on something that will not work.

(Sigh) I should have married Bob.


The Detroit Princess

Once there was a Detroit Princess who lived on the Detroit River floating along with the current. She’s a happy cruiser ship. Her favorite thing is making people happy by riding them into the sunset. This makes them smile.
She has a husband. He is the Detroit Prince. The Detroit Prince is a cargo ship. He delivers materials to Windsor. He comes late from work because he wants to be a passenger ship and he sneaks critters onto his ship and rides them around the Detroit River at night. The Detroit Princess nags all day long.
Then one day, he left her and went to Canada without telling anyone where he was going. At first, the Princess just thinks that he was late again, but he never came back. She was very, very sad because she had feelings for him. She finally decides to move on, because she can’t wait for him any longer.
The Princess had trouble finding a companion. She had a few dates, but the nagging scared them away. Then one gloomy day the Prince came back with his girlfriend, The Pearl of The Ocean, and rubbed it in the Princess’s face. Her foghorn blew off, how mad she was. The Prince left before things got ugly.
The Princess went looking for a boat of her own, and she met Titanic the Second. They had a couple of things in common like their foghorns matched, and they started a relationship.
The Princess went to see the Prince and introduced him to Titanic the Second. The Prince was very angry. He blew his foghorn off too. But then when Titanic the Second saw the Pearl of The Ocean, he broke up with the Princess and asked out the Pearl of The Ocean. Of course, she said yes and broke up with the Prince.
The Prince and Princess began to cry. Then all of a sudden they looked at each other and their sterns turned to face.
They stayed in that position for quite a while, when the Prince turned around and said, “Well, we’re the only two here…care to float with me?”
The Detroit Princess replied, “Well, why not?” And everyone floated happily ever after.

















Program Directors Tricia Maslowski (EMWP ’07) and Angela Knight (EMWP ’05).
Dickinson East/Holbrook Elementary camp directors Eva Hamilton and Shellie Scott (both EMWP ’08).
High camp school directors Katie Meister (MBWP ’07) and Valerie Allen (WSWP ’08).