David Howard told local students how to write their own book, where to find inspiration and how to engage in self-development.
The meeting of the famous author with Ulyanovsk teenagers from low-income families took place as part of the first language charity online shift. It is carried out by the nonprofit organization Profi Center as part of a project implemented jointly with Hempelfoundation. The shift is attended by 40 children aged 8-16, who before that attended free English courses.
Every day in the camp program is thematic. A virtual tour of London was already held by one of the local residents, the guys played national English games and had a virtual tea party in the style of "Alice in Wonderland".
On June 17, Ulyanovsk teenagers took part in a teleconference with the famous writer and poet David Howard. He is the author of six books, a participant in several international writer's residences, exhibitions and performances, editor of various publications, including those dedicated to Russian authors. His work has been translated into European languages. Howard repeatedly became the owner of literary awards. The Ones Who Keep Quiet was included in the list of the best books of the year according to the famous New Zealand magazine The New Zealand Listener.
David Howard’s participation in the project became possible thanks to the program “Ulyanovsk - UNESCO Literary City”. In 2019, the writer became a member of the International Literary Residence in Ulyanovsk and still maintains contact with the management of the program.
- I myself am from a poor family and gladly agreed to talk with the guys. The Skype session lasted about an hour, but I hope that our contact continues, I invited the guys to write questions to their teachers so that they would send them to me and I could answer.
And if I am lucky enough to return to Ulyanovsk, then we will definitely meet in one of your green parks and talk in person! - said David.
“During the conversation, the guys asked their questions in a chat in English, and David answered them verbally, ” says Galina Orekhova, a professor at Profi-Center. - This is a great practice for the children, because they do not hear foreign speech every day, they cannot ask a foreigner questions every day. And the questions were very different: about a writing career, about travel, about family, about lifestyle. They are curious, they are interested in how people live in other countries.
The shift will last 10 days and is designed not only for the development of children, but also the consolidation of language knowledge that students received during the school year.
You can get acquainted with the work of the writer on the website https://davidhowardpoet.com/
Article has been Google Translated from: http://ulyanovskcreativecity.ru/news/telemost-s-pisatelem-iz-novoy-zelandii-proveli-v-ulyanovske/