Ms. Merna Ann Hecht

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  voiceseducation.org/content/stories-arrival - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 9/23/2009  

  Stories of Arrival: Youth Voices was designed by poet Merna Ann Hecht to bring the use of poetry, drama, and literature to youth who were recent arrivals to the U.S., many of whom had experienced war, been born in refugee camps, or immigrated under considerable hardship. Ms. Hecht approached us with the idea for supporting this project in partnership with a one-time start-up grant from the Seattle chapter of Bread for the Journey and a grant from The Institute for Poetic Medicine in Palo Alto, CA. She had already establsihed a working relationship with and support from both Jack Straw Productions and KBCS 91.3 FM Radio. We immediately signed on as project partners.
  
  Hecht worked with students to help them create poems about the experiences that led to their immigration or relocation from another part of the world or country to their current residence in Tukwila, WA. The poems generated in this project reflect and celebrate a patchwork quilt of global traditions and cultural heritage as expressed by young poets from places as diverse as Eastern Washington, Mogadishu and Baghdad. In the last two years, under the guidance of Ms. Hecht, more than 50 Foster High School students have been involved in writing about their experiences of immigration.
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  Ms. Hecht had already established a solid working relationship with Foster High School where she had been a poet in residence for three prior semesters under the auspisces of the Seattle Arts and Lectures Wrtiers in the Schools program. (WITS) The Stories of Arrrival project was inspired by a War Stories Project that Hecht ran for the Foster students in 2008 in which the students were given support and instruction in crafting narrative poems about their experiences of war and conflict. Their work was recorded by a Jack Straw sound engineer at the school and broadcast on the KBCS-FM One World Diversity Program.
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  However, Hecht learned from the War Stories Project that students were not prepared to use their voices to full advantage, and decided that they would benefit from professional voice training before they recorded for public broadcast or gave public performances.Therefore, the Stories of Arrival project was designed so that the students would work with Jack Straw Studio voice coaches to prepare them for studio recording and public presentations.
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  At the outset of the project Ms. Hecht stated the core values from which the project developed:

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  www.artsedwashington.com/Resources/ProfDevCalendar.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/1/2008    Last Visited: 5/1/2008  

  This hands-on, interactive course is taught by poet and educator Merna Hecht.Recommended for third-grade through high-school educators.Cost: Members of TAM, $30; non-members, $36 Pre-registration is required.

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  my.voiceseducation.org/profile/MernaAnnHecht - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 2/4/2009  

  Merna Ann Hecht is member #15 of My Voice. Dec. 5, 2008

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  www.tacomacouncilofpta.org/ptanletjunjul02.html - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/15/2002    Last Visited: 11/6/2003  

  Sherman students and teachers have worked with professional artists Barbra Kates, Darwin Nordin and Merna Hecht, poet and storyteller, this year as part of a Washington State Arts Consortia Grant.
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  Ms.Hecht, worked with teachers and students to integrate the concepts of arts with literacy.
  
  A key component of the grant is to involve the community.
  
  The Sherman Art Extravaganza will be held on June 13 from 6:30-8pm for students and community.The gymnasium and multipurpose room will be turned into an art gallery in which children will take their parents and families on an art walk.All students will have a piece of artwork displayed.Barbra Kates, Darwin Nordin and Merna Hecht will be here also to answer questions about the student work and the Washington Arts Consortia Grant.

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  www.worldaffairssummit.org/locations.htm - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/10/2008    Last Visited: 3/10/2008  

  Merna Ann Hecht
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  Merna is currently the storyteller/writer in residence at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center School with K-12 studentsfor Seattle's Writers in the School program.

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  ArtsEd Washington eNews - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/1/2006    Last Visited: 2/9/2007  

  Merna Ann Hecht, poet and educator will lead a lively workshop on the connection between visual and verbal literacy.

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  Educator Professional Development Classes - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/2/2006    Last Visited: 8/18/2007  

  This hands-on, interactive course is taught by poet and educator Merna Hecht.

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  Its About Time Writing Series, Ravenna Third Place... - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 11/5/2006  

  Merna Hecht'
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  + Merna Hecht on The Writer's CraftThurs.
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  Merna Hecht'

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  Jack Straw Productions Education - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/1/2009    Last Visited: 8/19/2009  

  Seattle Poet and 2008 Jack Straw Writer Merna Ann Hecht worked with Foster High School students from around the world to write poems about their experiences, for a project titled Stories of Arrival, produced with support from The Voices Education Project in Seattle; The Institute for Poetic Medicine; Bread for the Journey; The Tukwila School District; the Tukwila Arts Commission; the Washington State Arts Commission; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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  Seattle Chapter - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/2/2008    Last Visited: 5/16/2009  

  Merna Ann Hecht, poet, storyteller, and arts and literacy educator, has partnered with Bread for the Journey of Seattle, Voices in Wartime Education Project, and Institute for Poetic Medicine to bring the power of language through poetry and narrative to immigrant students who have experienced war and conflict. As poet-in-residence at Foster High School, just south of Seattle, Merna has two goals for her students. The first is to provide a meaningful experience of how poetry and narrative writing can give honest expression and voice to their losses, their questions, their struggles and their hopes. The second is to provide opportunities within the larger community for showcasing the poetry of these young people - including community poetry readings, public radio broadcasts, and the publication of an anthology in hard copy. Bread for the Journey of Seattle is proud to have partnered with Merna and two other important organizations by contributing $1000 to fund this remarkable work.

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