At Young Writers, great writing isn't just read. It's listened to. We create many opportunities for young writers to share their work out loud with people who want to listen.

To help get the feel of the "unquietness" of the Workshop, we've asked some of our people--a teacher, a counselor, and students--to perform their work here on our web site. Unfortunately, some of these files are tremendous. So click on one you'd like to hear and go make yourself a cup of coffee; the download could take a while.

Poetry instructor Liz Ahl reads "TBA."	Fiction writer Rachel Becker reads from her story "Baby-sitting by the Ganges."(1.2 mb au file.)
Head counselor Ann Hudson reads "TBA."	Songwriter Jeff Miller leads a performance of his "Gertrude, the Unstoppable Ice-Cream Machine."(1.9 mb au file.)

Jeff Miller has been a student in the songwriting workshop in the summers of 1995 and 1996.

I was inspired to write "Gertrude" after I was reminded through anagonising therapy process of the senseless beating done unto me as a child. I felt the world needed a reminder to stop the insanity, keep the peace, and, most importantly, that child abuse is wrong.

"Gertrude" is a piece of psuedo-serious art, with "Gertrude" being a metaphor for "the world" and the Ice Cream being all the children who are beaten daily, with the narrarator standing in for the helpless people who look on in horror. I hope that people will take this message to heart when they hear the song.

As for me: I am Jeff Miller. I live in Van Nuys, CA and go to the Oakwood School. I'm 17 and a senior in high school. I have been playing guitar and writing songs for myself and the neo-hippie-grunge band "Bert" since I was 13 years old. My influences include Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Beck, Your Mom, real big fish, and many, many more.

I have one solo release, "Surplus is Immoral" on Proficiently ArtistiK Records, and am in the midst of writing songs for my first CD, due in June '97. In my spare time I enjoy cuisinarts and fine dining. For more info on me or if you want a tape, contact me at: RMKJ08C@Prodigy.com

I attended the UVA Young Writers Workshop in summer '95 and '96. It was the perfect place for me--a structured environment in which writing was taken seriously as fun. I know that's hard to understand for someone who's never been there, but trust me. The other students and staff are great people, and I developed friendships there that will last a lifetime. I think the way I'd describe the workshop to someone who had never been there would be: it's the first place I've been to where you fit in by being yourself. That makes it all worthwhile. If you like writing, go.

Editorial Note: At the Workshop, we understand the seriousness of child abuse