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HAVE THIS DANCE: "Nationwide, an estimated 60 to 80
percent of Native American students drop out before graduating
high school," reads literature from ArtsReach, an organization
of professional writers and teachers--Native American, Anglo and
Hispanic--who've dedicated themselves to salvaging some of this
lost human potential..."to help students bring (their) natural
gifts to the page."
An inspired collection of student works graces the pages of Dancing
with the Wind: The ArtsReach Literary Magazine, Vol. VII.
Edited by writer/educator Darryl Babe Wilson, the 68-page journal
brings the staggering reality of that statistic home: Simple,
elegant poems by young writers from the second through 10th grades
celebrate "the land of deserts and rain, of sunbeams, moonbeams
and flowers, of dancing deer and beckoning dreams," with
illustrations by students of ArtsReach, the Baboquivari High School
art program, and Project Choki.
If ever there were an opportunity to change the world by reading
a book, Dancing with the Wind might be it. Not only does
each page sparkle with the unique vision of those seeing and questioning
the world for the first time; but proceeds from all sales support
the non-profit group's mission to nurture creative expression,
academic progress and self-confidence among budding Yaqui, Tohono
O'odham, Mexican, Mexican-American and Anglo poets and artists.
Single issues are $7, available through ArtsReach, 1800 E. Fort
Lowell Road, No. 126-162, Tucson, AZ 85719. Back issues are also
available, each with a foreword by a prominent Native American
author. (Past editors include Ofelia Zepeda, Sherman Alexie and
Leslie Marmon Silko.) Call 798-3196 for information.
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