Recently, we’ve enlisted the help of Syracuse University students to help further some of our current projects. The group of students is part of a Civic Writing course spending a semester learning firsthand about community publishing. They’re in their fifth week and they’ve already supported our work in a variety of ways.

One of the first projects they’ve worked with is a series of chapbooks, smaller versions of some of our full-sized publications, including Home: Journeys in the Westside and I Witness: Perspectives on Policing in the Near Westside. The chapbooks will feature selections of resident writings and interviews printed in English and in Spanish. The class is well on their way to having them done. They’ve selected and proofread excerpts, taken photos, designed layouts and covers and are hoping to present them at an upcoming meeting with the board of residents. We hope the chapbooks will reach a wider, bilingual audience in the Westside and get more residents involved in the work of the press.

Additionally, the class has begun helping with the making of a book about sidewalks in the Westside. The sidewalks have been at the center of conversation both in and out of the neighborhood and we’re interested in projecting this dialogue in book form. They’re also developing a chapbook about the effect of prisons on urban neighborhoods in Syracuse and doing work to update and improve our website.

On February 16 at La Casita, we celebrated the release of I Witness: Perspectives on Policing in the Near Westside. The book launch was a picture of what the book tried to do–officers and Westside residents sat together at tables, read their pieces aloud, and shared their reactions with one another. The book, an effort to encourage honesty, trust, and communication between police and Westside residents, digs deep into the question of what policing is, has been, and can be in the Westside.  “The hearts and minds on both sides need to be changed. This book is the beginning of that process” (Introduction by the GSP editorial board).  IWitness: Perspectives on Policing in the Near Westside is available at 601 Tully in the Westside and in pdf here (http://reflectionsjournal.net/books-for-sale/).

The release of Home: Journeys Into the Westside was celebrated on August 17th at Café Kubal in Syracuse. The book, a collection of writing and artwork, celebrates the diverse experiences of Westside residents framed by the theme of “home.” This is our first book and we hope it will act as an extension and representation of our mission and vision. Copies are available through the press. Contact us for more information.

The month since our last update has been a busy one! Currently, our main focus is getting our first book ready for publication. We have been transcribing our interviews with Westside community members. After the interviews were completely written out, we edited them down so that they read more like stories rather than question and answer sessions. These edits have gone through several revisions to make sure that everything flows while maintaining the storyteller’s voice.

We’ve also been working on selecting images for the book. We are trying to include new images taken by the Press, meaningful family photos from the interviewees, and historic photos of the neighborhood. Thankfully, we have a lot of images to go through! We are also working on deciding which writing samples collected from the writing stations will go in the book.  Finally, we have been working on choosing a meaningful order to put each short story, photo, and writing station sample in. This has been no easy task, but like a good puzzle, everything has its proper place. In the coming weeks we hope to finalize the book layout, which will bring us one step closer to our final product!

This week the Gifford Street Community Press began collecting residents’ writing and art for the Press’ first publication: a collection titled “Home” that presents the residents ideas on the meaning of home on the Westside. The Westside is currently undergoing many changes with the police cameras going up and new programs sprouting around every corner, so we feel it is appropriate to turn to the residents for stories about home since they are the ones most impacted by the current events taking place in their neighborhood.

Our intention with the writing stations is to inspire and collect as many resident voices as we can to develop this colorful and educational book about what the neighborhood was in the past and is today.   The start has been slow but promising.  We have several residents who have expressed an interest in being interviewed for the book.  We anticipate some really exciting stories to come out of the relationships we have made. In speaking with them we have seen but a glimpse of the richness they fill the neighborhood with, making us that much more excited to be part of this budding project!

The Press set up writing stations around the community to work with residents on four different writing prompts.  Locations included Brown Memorial Church, the Kind Coffee Company, and the Delavan Art Gallery.  We’re only a few weeks in and a ton of great work has already been collected.  A big “thank you” goes out to everyone who took the time to contribute.

There will be many more writing sessions held in the coming weeks.  Check out the calendar for the times and locations of upcoming writing sessions.  Come visit one of the sessions to contribute to the book, or simply to find out more about the Gifford Street Community Press!

Most recently, Syracuse University WRT 300 students finished work on the Gifford Street Community Press website.  During class, they broke up into the following groups to complete the website: community outreach, website design, and writing.  Each group had independent tasks to complete every day of the week and consulted with Professor Steve Parks.  In order to make the website, the community outreach group went to the Near Westside, interviewed residents, and took pictures of the community.  The writing group created content for the website, providing information about the press and its policies.  Finally, the website design group put all of the information together and created certain graphics featured on the website. Next week they will send a link to the Press Board for their suggestions, revisions, and approval.

This past November and December, Westside Resident Coalition members (including Isaac Rothwell, Jeff Bellamy, Mother Earth, Richard Vallejo) and graduate students from the writing program met to formulate a mission statement for the press.  Over the six week period, we focused on developing a mission statement that insured the press would be community led, focused on the Westside, and open to all voices of the neighborhood.  We decided to name the effort, Gifford Street Community Press.

During the week of January 24th, the Gifford Street Community Press Board was formed, which includes Gary Bonaparte, Mother Earth, Susan Hamilton, Isaac Rothwell, and Richard Vallejo.  At the initial board meeting, an agenda was established that focused on creating a set of publications and writing groups, which would meet the needs of the community. We decided on a book project focused on the meaning of “home,” as well as writing groups centered on certain populations and themes (i.e. young adults, education, crime).  We also started setting the gears in motion for a website.  Finally, the board plans to reach out to other populations and organizations in the neighborhood, seeking their insights and participation.