Award-Winning Writer Kiese Laymon Creates Writing Program For Mississippi High School Students

Writer and MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner Kiese Laymon has launched an initiative to help Mississippi high schoolers explore their love for writing while learning about the state’s rich history. Mississippi native Laymon has created the Catherine Coleman Literary Arts, Food, and Social Justice Summer Program. And this program, which Laymon named in his grandmother’s honor, has a unique twist.

From June 4-9, selected Mississippi high schoolers will participate in a six-day residential program on Jackson State University’s campus. They will be able to choose from three different workshops: poetry, fiction, and film and theater screenwriting. But that is not all that the students will be learning.

Laymon’s love of the South and of writing has never faltered, and he wants young people to join in this passion. He hopes to change how young people look at creativity. As part of the program, participants will also engage in southern food traditions, exploring how Mississippi food goes from the ground to their dinner plates, and learn more about the social justice movements in their communities.

“Our hope is to ritualize workshops and incredible food for young folks in our community who might not get a lot of time to write and read ‘creatively,’” says Laymon.

The program allows young writers to exercise their abilities while working with some of the most acclaimed writing instructors. Participants will also get to speak with special invited guests. Students who complete the program will receive a $300 stipend.

The Catherine Colman summer program was founded at the University of Mississippi when Laymon was a faculty member there, and has a new home at Jackson State University, one of the largest HBCUs in the United States.

The author of Heavy: An American Memoir and How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, Laymon is renowned for his honest portrayal of racism, addiction, and the general trials of life in his work. Laymon wants to ensure that high schoolers are equipped with the knowledge, freedom, and help to craft their own stories and hone their storytelling skills.