EMU Today

YPSILANTI – YpsiWrites, a community writing program sponsored by Eastern Michigan University and other community partners, has developed new online programming to support writers in the Ypsilanti community during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

EMU English professor Cathy Fleischer and Ann Blakeslee, Director of the Office of Campus and Community Writing, along with their team have worked to extend the YpsiWrites resources to the community online, as people are currently unable to physically utilize the program’s services at the Ypsilanti District Libraries.

The team has both created and curated sources to help youths, teens, and adults with writing invitations that they can do at home – individually or together as a family. They are being rolled out on the YpsiWrites website and through the YpsiWrites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. 

They have also created virtual writing support through one-on-one online conferencing for teen and adult writers

“Perhaps even more than ever, writing is vitally important to help us make sense of our current situation,” said Blakeslee, co-founder of YpsiWrites. “Writing can help us make sense of this moment and document it for ourselves and future generations.”

 YpsiWrites is offering several new services and support:

• Virtual writing support for teens and adults.

• Online writing resources for writers of all ages.

• Nature writing prompts to help stimulate creativity, questioning, problem-solving and well-being

• Journaling prompts to help writers make sense of this time.

• Zine activity to help writers find their creativity

 Details on these activities are available on the YpsiWrites’ website.

 YpsiWrites is a collaborative venture by Eastern Michigan University’s Office of Campus and Community Writing, the Ypsilanti District Library, and 826michigan to provide writing support to writers of all ages in Ypsilanti.  For further information, and to learn how to participate or volunteer, contact Ann Blakeslee at ablakesle@emich.edu.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.