One of the most inspiring traditions of 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center is the program that brings the world’s greatest writers to meet — and share pizza with — groups of New York City public schoolchildren before their onstage events at 92Y. It’s a tradition that began in 1987 with Maya Angelou and has included Claudia Rankine, Zadie Smith, Mario Vargas Llosa, Salman Rushdie and so many others. They talk about writing, storytelling, poetry — and it’s often as inspiring for the authors as it is for the students.

During this time of separation, the Poetry Center team has reached out to writers to ask them for their own prompts to get children writing. Poetry Center Director Bernard Schwartz and Wendy Salinger, who works with the authors and the schools, have been gathering them for us to share on Saturdays, in our Kids & Family email.

(And if you’re thinking about writing your own story, you might consider taking a writing class. We have lots. They’re helpful, supportive, judgment-free, and online.)

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