We believe everyone has stories to tell, yet not all stories are told. This is not because of talent or desire, but because of access and opportunity. The goal of theuntoldnarratives.com is to provide a space for storytelling, for writers to learn the art and craft of writing at their own pace. Everyone has a story to tell, yet not all stories are told. Creating more narratives that represent the multiple identities and realities in the world starts with you. The Untold Narratives provides services and supports to help you or people close to you tell their stories and share them with the public. It doesn't matter whether you think you are a good writer or storyteller. We believe in you, so come learn and share with us! The Untold Narratives provides services and supports to help you release the stories within and share them with others. For her fellowship project, Jordan delved into deep, abstract topics like double consciousness and inconsistent realities by placing characters in a dark, atmospheric environment to highlight these concepts. The result is a fantastic blend of character , theme and vibe that will keep you riveted. -Liz Santiago, Founder of The Untold Narratives TUN Storytelling Fellow: Jordan Richo The title "The Strange Lamp” is in reference to the phenomenon in which people are snapped out of their perceptions of reality by a single, out of place object, thus revealing the horrific dreamlike state they had previously been living happily within. To exist in this world as a person of color is to be both subconsciously aware and willfully unaware of both a real and imagined identity. The black body has often been a stand-in for inherent monstrosity. And when you are contending with a violent history, while consuming media and language that seeks to dehumanize you until you believe that your own nature is comparatively disturbed, there is a third point of view that manifests as dreams or fantasy. The out of body experience that Dubois coined as "double consciousness." I wanted to explore these out of body experiences with identity. I wanted to explore how fear and violence manifest in third spaces of reality. How histories of violence and hatred can burrow deep into even our most comfortable spaces and in turn infect our perceptions of our relationships and ourselves. Read her co mplete work here: Jordan Richo An Excerpt from TUN Fellow Jordan Richo's Work Join our Mailing List! Info@theuntoldnarratives.com

Deysi's Project We sometimes come by earth sometimes by air Our eyes swollen from tears Trying our best to push out our fears We think about family were leaving behind We think about the dreams were trying to find Feeling sorrow, but our minds far from hollow Filled with hope, that's the fuel that runs the globe Esperanza, lo que llena a cada humano -Deysi Go Back to Inspired By ... 2024 Project List

*Currently Available* Poetry Poetry is a type of writing that is hyper-focused on word choices and rhythm. In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to describe directly. In this section, you will find helpful ideas to get you started writing your own poems. Memoir A memoir tells the story of a personal life experience that helped you grow or change. We all have experiences that have shaped us whether negative or positive into the person we are today. Writing a memoir gives others a chance to learn from us. In this section, you will find helpful ideas to get you started writing your own memoir. Non-fiction Non-fiction is any document or content that purports in good faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. Nonfiction Content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of a story. *In Development* The Craft of Writing To write, all you need are ideas and a way to get your ideas down. Once you have ideas and have written them down, then what do you do? The C raft of Writing section will help you organize your ideas and take your writing to the next level. Long and short fiction Fiction is storytelling that comes from your imagination. It’s a chance for you to entertain, inspire, inform, or persuade using your own creativity. Some general types of fiction incl u de the novel, short story, poetry, scripts (for TV and Movies), stage plays, song lyrics, folktales, myths and legends. For this section, we are going to only focus on novels and short stories. Podcasts Are you interested in telling your story through a Podcast? A podcast is a series of spoken word, audio episodes that people can download and listen to at thei r convenience. In this section, we give you ideas for using a podcast format to tell your story. YouTube Series YouTube is an amazing format for telling a story or sharing knowledge with the world. If you'd like to create a YouTube video or series to tell your story, this section will help you get started. Editing and Revision So you have been writing and you are ready to review your writing to make sure it makes sense to you and your readers, this section on editing and revising your work will help you!

Tags: Muslim, Children’s stories, Kid’s stories, Islam, Ramadam

Debby's Project María When we roam, change unlocks doors to new bonds, new home "Me vine a este país por mi hijo," Maria softly said, Her sacrifice echoed by many, hearts heavy with fear. Chapters start and end Leaving kin behind, for your own, a familiar immigrant's dilemma, Building a new life, among struggles, under foreign light. Language barriers rose, obstacles to surpass, "Me sentía totalmente desconectada," a whispering recount. In roles assigned, sometimes our own selves we neglect, "Uno es esposa y madre, pero uno también es mujer," María reflexionó. Chapters unfold, as María paints her path in bold hue, Not a journey to tread alone, but with companions true. Her son, her steadfast advocate, by her side did stand, Through gains and losses, navigating this foreign land. For age knows no limit, nor does the changing tide, La esencia de la vida persiste, más allá¡ de lo que alguna vez vemos When burdens weigh heavy, holding back our flight, It's in letting go, we find our wings, taking flight. "I love you," whispered to oneself, with sincerity true, Opens the door to self-discovery, revealing life anew. -Debby Go Back to Inspired By ... 2024 Project List

Meet Hannah Richo Hannah Richo is a recent graduate of the studio for Interrelated Media program at the Massachusetts College Of Art. Her practice focuses on ideas of home and family, exploring how the spaces we inhabit interact with and are affected by our cultural backgrounds. She values community building through the art of storytelling and uplifting marginalized voices. Hannah has a love for the horror genre and her literary inspirations are Toni Morrison, Quan Berry and Carmen Maria Machado. Experience Hannah Richo's work I’ve always been interested in the concept of a home. It is, to me, a space that is very alive, filled with our own personal rituals. I wanted to stretch the meanings of home and family, utilizing stereotypes from family sitcoms and tropes from the horror genre. To me, this project is an exploration of genre, I love blending nostalgia with darker concepts, and delving into the topic of girlhood and all of its contradictions. I was stuck, for a while, in the process of conceptualizing, and trying to make sense of my ideas. One thing that always hinders my creative process is the idea of format and structure, I was very stuck on a particular structure and fitting my writing in a box. Worried it would be difficult to understand otherwise. This led to quite a bit of scrapping and starting over, and being over critical. Getting rid of structure and format altogether was what helped to start loosening the tension I had surrounding this piece. Letting the words and language determine their own structure. Basically taking a hammer to the entire piece and moving around all of the broken fragments. I think really playing with the idea of what it means for a space to be haunted, what is a haunting, how does it manifest, pushed me forward in conceptualizing my project. What really inspired this particular piece was the idea that we, in our day to day lives, haunt every space we inhabit. We leave marks everywhere we go, changing, mutating every room we enter. Hauntings, in horror movies and books, are extremes. I thought, in passing, as a teenage girl, you exist to haunt your father’s home. A haunting is a persistent disturbance, and a teenage girl, constantly changing, is persistently disturbing, whether it be physically or atmospherically, her father’s home. Actively contesting and contradicting it. From there I was able to really piece things together. This as well as, beginning to describe this writing to myself as body horror, where the body in question is the home. I really enjoyed the freedom of being able to write without a set format or style in mind, I liked being able to delve really deeply into a subject matter, creating a strange amalgamation of poetry and short story writing and having the comfort of being able to share it in a non-judgmental space. Click Me

Reflections on A Life by Rhonda Weaver An excerpt from a novel in progress I remember a plaque a friend of mine gave to me about 40 years ago. I had left my very stable full-time job to pursue something less stable – writing. I wanted to bring the fantasies and the stories in my head into the world. It was such a need at that time that my friend, being a great supportive friend, gave me a plaque. It was one of those, “If I had my life to live over…” kinds of things. It was supposedly written by a 96-year-old women reflecting on her life. There were three paragraphs and each paragraph began with, “If I had my life to live over I would…” Some of the things the author would do if she had her life to live over again included running barefoot somewhere or traveling more. As I sit in my comfortable recliner with my cat, Lady Marmalade, on my lap, I can’t help think of that plaque. It was supposed to inspire its readers to live life to the fullest, but it always made me feel bad because there were some things that I didn’t care to do and some that I couldn’t physically do. Now that I am 67 years old and the cancer has decided to reappear, I can’t help but think about that plaque and wonder if I had my life to live over, what would I do differently? Now that I am feeling close to the end of my life, was my life a life worth living? I have been and continue to feel spiritually bankrupt. When I think of death, I think of eternal darkness. I think of not knowing life the way I had known it. All of my beliefs, desires and consciousness gone. I will never be a person again. I will never feel feelings again and it scares the crap out of me. I look to the clock. I have been sitting in this recliner for 6 hours. I had turned the TV off at midnight and had meant to go to bed, but the draw of the dark and the comfort of the recliner made it difficult to move on. There’s also something about sitting in the stillness of the late evening early morning that conjures up the darkest of thoughts like leaving this life and Lady Marmalade. I thought I had come to terms with where I was at this point in my short existence, but maybe I need to go back. Back to the beginning of my life to prepare for the end of it.

What is Poetry? Poetry is a type of writing that is hyper-focused on word choices and rhythm, and it often uses rhyme and meter (a set of rules around the number and arrangement of syllables in each line). In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to describe directly. Poetry is sometimes meant to be read off a page, so the way words are arranged visually can vary from what looks like a paragraph to what looks like a list to what looks like a pattern or image. Each choice the poet makes about how they place their words on a page can impact the way the reader reads it. So those choices need to be intentional. Sometimes poetry is meant to be recited out loud by the poet. So how the poem is read or performed is as important as how the poem is written. This kind of poetry can often be heard in Poetry Slams. To help get you started, read on to learn more about different kinds of poetry and see how you can start to write your own. You will find several links to read and/or hear various poems and poets, and find links to other helpful resources, as well as some activities to try! Before You Start There are a few concepts to understand before you read on. We have created videos to help you with these concepts. You can pick and choose the videos you want to explore before you start or during your review of the material. Freewrite is currently available. Videos for brainstorming, prompts and creating word banks are coming, Freewrite: In creative writing, we do a lot of free writing. It's a "free" type of writing that gets your creativity flowing. The following video describes what it is in more detail. Example Poems To start, here’s a list of poems to read or experience that will get your creativity flowing before you start writing your own. A couple of questions to ask yourself for further thinking are included after each link. (Important note: There are no right and wrong answers to these questions! They are simply provided to help deepen your thinking about what you are reading and hearing.) : Dance, dance, dance by Princess Moo: (scroll down to where you see the title, dance, dance, dance ). What did you notice about how the words appear on the page? Did anything surprise you? Why do you think some words are italicized? Why do you think the poet chose not to capitalize her sentences? Hearing That   Joe Arroyo Song at Ibiza Nightclub , 2008 by Elizabeth Acevedo: What did you notice about how the words appear on the page? How did that arrangement impact the way you read the poem? If you could speak to the poet, what questions would you ask? Had My Parents Not Been Separated… by Porsha Olayiwola: In this video, we hear the poet read their poem out loud to us. How did it feel to have the poem read to you instead of reading it yourself? I Wonder What Ricky Martin Is Doing Right Now by Anthony Febo: This time we hear and see and hear the poet perform their poem at a Poetry Slam. How did experiencing the poem like this impact you as the audience? What did you notice about the poet’s body language while he was performing? Did it add to or take away from the poem, in your opinion? Queer Brown Planet by Amanda Torres: Even though the poet is writing in what could be considered science fiction, what real life experiences does she share with her audience? Why do you think she chooses to share real life experiences in this way? What impact, if any, does the audience response have on your experience of the poem? Types of Poems There are many different poetry forms with their own rules and styles. With so many forms, it can be a little intimidating especially if you are new to poetry. So, we suggest you begin with these to get a feel for the possibilities: Rhymed Poetry Rhymed poetry uses a “rhyme scheme” to create a specific rhythm and meter in a poem. Rhyme can be defined as “the repetition of similar sounds at the end of a word.” Rhyme scheme can be defined as “the pattern of rhyming words at the end of each line of a poem.” Watch this video to see how this works in action. Haiku Haiku (俳句 pronounced high-koo) is a short three-line poem that usually follows a 5-7-5 syllable structure. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets, and is often inspired by nature, a moment of beauty, or a poignant experience. Haikus are meant to be read in one breath to feel the full affect. For more on haiku and some ideas to get you started, click here . Free Verse Free verse is the name given to poetry that doesn’t use any strict meter or rhyme scheme. Because it has no set meter, poems written in free verse can have lines of any length, from a single word to much longer. Most poets writing today write in free verse. For more on free verse, click here . Try writing at least one of each to get you started. If you want to learn more, you will find a list of types of poetry here . Take your time to read through these types of poems. Find which ones you gravitate toward the most. Find examples of these forms written by poets that you like and read, listen, and take notes. Ask yourself why certain poems and poetry styles attract you? Is it about the words? Message? Rhythm? All of the above??? You can learn a lot about yourself as a writer by reading other writers’ work. Now You Try! Read the following prompts. Pick one and freewrite your response. (Remember, the process of freewriting to a prompt or a topic is a good way to get you started.) Think about how you are feeling right now. Are you happy? Bored? Nervous? Excited? Once you are aware of how you are feeling, write about anything at all in your mind for 3 minutes. This is also known as a freewrite. Then, reread your freewrite after the time is up. Circle stand out words or phrases you wrote and arrange them in a way that makes sense to you. Then turn those words into phrases or sentences to create a poem. Pick a specific moment that stood out to you this week. Create a “Word Bank” full of action words, emotions, nouns, and phrases that describe this moment in as much detail as possible. Arrange the words from your Word Bank in a way that makes sense to you. Then flesh out those words into phrases or sentences to create a poem. Write a poem about what your name means. It can be as long or short as you would like, free verse, rhymed, or haiku, but share the history of your name and what it means to you. Use Random Word Generator . Go to the site, type in the number 5 in the number of words box then click on Generate Random Words to get a list of words. Use as many of those words as you can in a poem. You can look up the meaning of any words you might know know at Dictionary.com . Feeling inspired? Here's another site that has 22 poetry prompts to help you write your next great poem! Want more? Here are a Few Poets To Enjoy Find your favorite poets and pay attention to their process, themes, and style. This can help you develop a process and style that works for you. Here are a list of some poets to look into: Natalie Diaz: Natalie Diaz is the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary Poetry at Arizona State University. She is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. Porsha Olayiwola: Black: Writer. Performer. Futurist Marcus Wicker: Marcus Wicker is the author of Silencer, poems that address gun violence and police brutality against African Americans. Adobo-Fish-Sauce : Adobo-Fish-Sauce is an active choice to celebrate in the face of bitterness. It is responding to “Go back to where you come from!” by bringing where they are from right to you. Javier Zamora: Javier Zamora was born in La Herradura, El Salvador in 1990. His work explores how immigration and the civil war have impacted his family. Amanda Torres: Write. Educator. Cultural Organizer Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboa : Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah is a Ghanaian American poet living out the diaspora in Boston (Massachusetts). Elisabet Velasquez: Elisabet Velasquez is a Brooklyn Born Boricua. She is a mother of two. Her poems are an exploration of her life. Eve L. Ewing: Dr. Eve L. Ewing is a sociologist of education and a writer from Chicago. Button Poetry: Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for performance poetry. William Nuʻutupu Giles: William Nuʻutupu Giles is an afakasi Samoan writer and arts educator from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Native American Poetry and Culture: Explore a multitude of Native American Poets. Denice Frohman : Denice Frohman is a poet, performer, and educator from New York City. These are so many wonderful poets out there, so this is only a small list. Go explore then when you are ready to write your own poems, submit them here! Are you ready to submit a poem? Upload your poems here!

Photo borrowed from: Puerto Rican Day Trips The following poem written by Cristina A. Perez is an excerpt from a longer work. Read a sample of the collection now. The trees bear witness In Puerto Rico, there are so many trees on this tropical island of mine Trees that have remained for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years You can tell it’s been such a long time just by looking at them They are so large and thick– they almost look overgrown These trees must have been here for over 500 years at least These trees must have witnessed all the history of Puerto Rico Beyond the 500 years I try to research Because that’s as far as the written word can tell me anything beyond theory I imagine the trees bear witness to the true history of Borikén These trees remained after the first European invaders came The trees were there to witness the invaders genocide of Borikén’s people Through disease, battles, slavery, abuse, and more. The trees witnessed that some of the Borikén’s people remained like the trees themselves While others jumped into the ocean to avoid the inevitable The trees saw that too The trees bore witness when Borikén officially became Puerto Rico The trees heard when Borikén was renamed after it’s use, a rich port, to these invaders who began to live on this land The trees saw Borikén’s people number dwindle drastically and continuously The trees witnessed another group of people come with the invaders But most of these new people came in chains The trees saw the new people treated similar to the people of Borikén The trees became so horrified with all that happened in less than 100 years They could not look anymore They refused to look But they kept hearing everything– The invaders language become the language of the land The sound of bullets and bombs The anguish of the people who came in chains and Borikén’s people that remained The trees heard battles and revolts The trees heard pleas of freedom and mercy from the earth from gods from God The trees heard too much The trees begged God to no long bear witness The trees begged God to let them be cut down To burn in the breeze, or be thrown into the sea The trees could bear witness no longer God heard the trees Some he granted a hurricane to take them into the sea Some were pulled by their roots out of the earth While other trees pleas, God refused to grant He told the trees it was there job to bear witness To be a testament of history But more than the cruelty and evil of man, The trees were to be testaments of God To demonstrate growth, despite tragedy, Demonstrating strength and durability to remain and not bend to the evil of man To demonstrate hope and life that freedom can be found beyond what the world could ever offer The trees are testaments of God’s creation and his love For even the trees that bear witness can remain and endure How much more will God be near to us to remain and endure? How much deliverance and freedom is offered with the promise of Heaven? If the trees continue to bear witness to both good and evil, cannot we be relieved that our time to bear witness ends sooner than the trees? The trees remain to bear witness as they are some of the only things that can remain for over 500 years in this world Now, all the trees clap their hands rejoicing to their creator God for only the goodness of the land and the death of evil men The trees bear witness and clap their hands

This episode is a compelling discussion with Dr. Elizabeth Santiago about why it's important for young people to own their narratives. Through the telling of her own story, Dr. Santiago helps us to understand why it can be harmful to tokenize young people, why students of color require support navigating higher education spaces, and how her own story influences her game-changing work at MENTOR. Click anywhere below to access the episode.