What Kids Can Do

Hip Deep

Opinion, Vision, and Essays by American Teenagers

Edited by Abe Louise Young with the youth board of Next Generation Press

Preface by Dixie Goswami, Breadloaf School of English

March 2006 ♦ Paperback ♦ 208 pages ♦ ISBN: 0-9762706-2-5 ♦ $12.95

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What is on the minds of America's youth? There is no better way to find out than to read their essays, speeches, and poems on topics they consider urgent. More than fifty young writers-from villages in Alaska to housing projects in Alabama-tell what matters to them in a remarkable new anthology: Hip Deep: Opinion, Vision, and Essays by American Teenagers. The book combines the adrenalin of fresh viewpoints with eye-opening stories about the diverse conditions of teenagers' lives.

William Harvey tells of playing his violin for soldiers digging through Ground Zero. Eric Green writes a moving account of struggling to succeed in high school despite his fetal alcohol syndrome. Telvi Alitimirano, a fifteen-year-old Latina from Texas, contributes a sassy manifesto about her choice to remain a virgin, standing her ground with style against "all those little boys who try to hit me up." Matan Prilletinsky gives a scathing analysis of the juvenile death penalty. Juliana Partridge examines her biracial identity: "I am the taste of daybreak, the initiator of a new world."

Other writers take on international politics, gay marriage, divorce, religious and cultural freedom, poverty, sports, and many other subjects. The young editors of Hip Deep culled essays, poems, speeches, and radio journals from the most distinctive work by people under age 19, first published in print, on websites, or on airwaves in America over the last three years.

Hip Deep is revealing news for adult readers, and inspiration for youth who have something to say. It ends with a practical guide for young writers seeking to publish their work, and a comprehensive list of the best venues for youth publication. Urging teachers to bring it into their classrooms, Dixie Goswami, who directs the Breadloaf School of English Teacher Network at Middlebury College, writes in her preface: "Hip Deep provides us with ways of understanding what literacy means, at a time when opportunities are increasing for teenagers to publish, electronically and in print."

Out in the world, readers and writers are already taking note. Poet Naomi Shihab Nye calls Hip Deep "a collection to wipe the sorrowful spin of news from our eyes and ears, to remind us there is truth out there somewhere, and it's young as well as timeless, and it feels wonderful to find it. This is a book for every teacher, every high school, every parent, and every person in this land who cares about the intriguing, necessary stories of young lives."

Click here to download (PDF) excerpts from the book.

"SAT Bronx provides us with a different entry point for conversations about equity. It combines two codes and cultural lingos, reminding us that youth can conduct sharp analysis of complex factors and situations that are not cut-and-dried."
– Gregory Peters, San Francisco Center for Essential Small Schools (SFCESS)

“The remarkable stories in Pass It On testify to the power of community, of working together and helping one another. Each one inspires and gives hope, showing us the power of supportive relationships in the lives of youth.”
—Mayor David Cicilline,
Providence, RI

“It seems fitting and important to enlist the next generation as social documenters of a changing India in this time of rapid globalization. They come with an open mind and fresh opinions—and this is the world they are inheriting.”
—Naresh Gupta,
Managing Director, Adobe India

“The village life Kambi ya Simba's youth document is at once ordinary and surprising, entrepreneurial and backward. Its dreams are both wide and narrow, its times both good and bad.”
– www.allafrica.com

“Using curiosity as their credentials, the teenagers—who are recent immigrants and still learning English—took tape recorders and digital cameras to document the lives of their neighbors, friends, and even family members. Forty-Cent Tip is the remarkable result.”
– Stephen Wolgast, NewsPhotographer

"The scientific components are as good as any I've seen, while the poems and personal reflections on nature, science and place help to bring the San Diego Bay area alive. Taken together, Perspectives of San Diego Bay captures the essence of not just a region, but of the deep connections between nature, science and humanity..."
– Thomas Hayden,
US News & World Report

“First in the Family is PERFECT for our student population! I couldn’t imagine anything more useful or inspiring or informative.”
– Lynne Marie Bruce,
Golden Gate HS

“This book is a bible for college preparatory services! There is really nothing else like this out there--there are tons of reports, but nothing else with faces, names, and the emotional resonance of First in the Family.”
– Emily Steinberg,
Admission Control

“Sent to the Principal captures the essence of what Breaking Ranks II means by personalization. Giving students voice so that they can have an impact on their schooling and be engaged in the school community is an integral part of the school reform process.”
– John Nori, National Assoc. of Secondary School Principals

“Read every word of What We Can’t Tell You, as I did, and you’ll get to know these articulate teens by name. Consult it often, and you’ll become an accomplished and empathetic mentor.”
– Cathi Dunn MacRae,
Voices of Youth Advocates