Written by Stephanie Avery, photos by Rachele Terranova
Deep is an organization dedicated to uplifting Savannah youth into agents of change and community leaders through the art of writing. The Deep Center publishes the work of young writers who complete their Young Author Program. This program focuses on middle school aged kids who then paired with teachers and volunteers in the community.
May 13 the Savannah Deep program hosted its Deep Speaks event where participating students were selected by their peers to read their work. The curtains were drawn, and one by one, each child came forth to present.
Listening to their pieces was stunning and emotionally compelling. The young writers held no punches when it came to complex topics. Each young writer had a strong, clear voice that spoke out on subjects with great emotional density. The combined works of these middle school students delved into political satire, feelings of abandonment and loss, metal health, gender identification, the racial divide and self-esteem. Fantasy and suspense pieces were also popular.
Throughout the night, awards were given out to teachers and volunteers who went above and beyond in their work with the program. At the end of the night, the Deep Laureate award was given to Khalil Bush whose piece, “Consider Me,” was daring, heartfelt and honest. The moving piece described Bush’s fractured relationship with his father and the impact it had on him.
The event was hosted in the Savannah Theatre and included popcorn for sale and free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream following. The end of year collection, titled “Deep Anthologies,” was available for purchase and other donations to the Deep Center were accepted.
