Ellen Hopkins, a New York Times best-selling author known for her authentic depictions of young people and the gritty subject matter of her books, visited Avon last week to speak with students about her literary career.
Hopkins was in the area for the Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival so Melisa Swain, a program assistant with Genesee Valley BOCES’ School Library Systems, reached out to see if she’s visit a few districts, Avon included.
“To all of our surprise and delight, she agreed,” said High School Librarian Suzanne Freeman. “To have such a big name author visit us is pretty amazing. I've long hoped we'd be able to have her as a visiting author, but didn't really expect it to ever happen. When the opportunity arose, I jumped on it.”
One of the main reasons Freeman wanted Hopkins to come to Avon and speak with students is because of her reputation for writing young characters and stories authentically.
“Ellen Hopkins tackles tough topics that are relevant to students and speaks from personal experience,” Freeman said. “She doesn't sugarcoat or preach, but her writing makes students think critically - about life, about choices, about consequences, about what others might be experiencing, about their futures.”
Such literature gives students opportunities to live vicariously through others, Freeman continued, to consider perspectives beyond the confines of their school, to see themselves in characters and situations and realize they are not alone.
“Both of these scenarios help students to develop compassion and understanding,” she said.
Before turning her attention to novels, Hopkins was a freelance reporter and wrote children’s non-fiction books. Her debut novel, “Crank,” is loosely based on Hopkins’ daughter’s real-life addiction to crystal meth and was a New York Times best seller in the young adult category upon its release in 2004.
The subject matter Hopkins often features in her books - addiction, abuse and childhood trauma chief among them - has made her the most banned author in the country according to PEN America, a non-profit that advocates for human rights and free expression,
But speaking to Avon high schoolers last week, Hopkins said doing anything other than writing authentically would be a disservice to her readers.
“I know what’s affecting those kids, I know what’s going on in schools, I talk to kids all the time,” said Hopkins. “…that’s why I’m banned, because adults don’t want to believe bad stuff happens to you guys. They just don't. They just want to think everybody’s life is this perfect little thing… but not necessarily, right?”
After presenting to middle and high schoolers during two separate assemblies, Hopkins participated in a “Dine and Discuss” session around lunchtime and then held a writing workshop in the high school library.
During the writing workshop, Hopkins read an original item poem aloud and then led students in a list-writing exercise before tasking them with writing an item poem of their own.
Item or object poetry is a style of poetry that makes use of snapshot-like descriptions of an author’s likes, dislikes and memories in order to convey a sense of the author’s voice and identity.
Hopkins had students list things unique to their home and school, their favorite TV shows, movies, bands or singers, foods they love or hate and smells that carry a special significance.
The purpose of the list-making, said Hopkins, was so that when students actually started writing their poems, they’d have an ample supply of precise and highly-subjective details that would, in turn, yield a poem with a specific voice.
Near the end of the workshop, students remarked on how useful they’d found the exercise.
“I think with the ideas you gave us, it made it a lot easier to write,” sophomore Olivia N. told Hopkins as the workshop was wrapping up. “Hearing your examples really helped.”
Freeman hopes students get “validation” from Hopkins’ visit, and come to understand that the tough things they or their friends may be facing should not be swept under the rug and hidden.
“I'm thrilled that the students were so engaged and hope, as Ellen does, that they find the inspiration to ‘Live their best lives’ from her books,” she said.
Ellen Hopkins speaks with students about her literary career during an assembly the morning of Sept. 23.
Ellen Hopkins leads students in a writing workshop in the High School Library during her Sept. 23 visit to Avon.
Ellen Hopkins answers high school students’ questions during her Sept. 23 visit to Avon.
During an assembly with high school students Sept. 23, Ellen Hopkins speaks about why she strives to “write real” in her young adult works, which often include themes of addiction, abuse and childhood trauma.