San Francisco has my heart. i was born and raised here in this city of fog, steep hills and cable cars. but san francisco is not just the golden gate bridge or fisherman's wharf and fancy schmancy restaurants. i think sf has something for everyone.
san francisco is about getting lost in golden gate park's botanical gardens, being stuck inside the tunnel while riding muni. it's about seeing the murals in the mission and going to city lights for a writer's pilgrimage.
Riding the bus, i see all sorts of people, elderly chinese ladies with plastic bags filled to the brim with groceries, hipsters putting their bikes on the bicycle rack, students with heavy backpacks. there are all kinds of people; they are working class, artists, teachers, elderly, homeless, youth who depend on public transportation every day. Muni is about yelling "Back door"so you can get off.
San Francisco is about seeing the city through rooftop gardens and eating in sidewalk cafes, watching the pigeons near the taco trucks and going to japanese dollar stores.
i am always reminded that when you ride the buses, that's where the locals are, where they live. san francisco is a city of hills, surrounded by the sea, you can even ride a streetcar named desire from new orleans.
the city is as colorful as the stories that are contained in the streets.
The book i have been working alongside fellow youth poets is titled, "City of Stairways" and it's a book about San Francisco secrets written by youth. Both travel guide and poetry anthology, it's a love letter to San Francisco. my artwork, including the 3 pieces i have posted here and my poetry will be featured in this book!
the project has been an amazing experience, but we need your help to get this book published! on the widget below, we have a video created so you can learn more about this project. please donate, it will be greatly appreciated! all of the project proceeds will go towards WritersCorps, which is an amazing organization that has teaching artists go into inner city schools, community centers, juvenile lock up facilities and they teach creative writing.
poetry inspired my life when i was just 13 because of writerscorps. all my writerscorps teachers have been amazing mentors.
oh and in the first photo in the video below, i am the 2nd girl from the left, wearing a grey ruffly scarf. that photo was taken on a rainy day and we went to the wave organ.
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