School Visits
I’ve developed two presentations for school visits, one for a general student population and one specifically for student writers (if, say, you’re a school of the arts with a writing program, or if you’re teaching a creative writing class.)
Both are geared toward high school students, as the book contains some material that might not be suitable for younger readers.
You can contact me at contact@AuthorFreeman.com about coming to your school.
The General Talk
My general presentation to young readers involves a review of the history of Chinese immigration through Angel Island (e.g. the Chinese Exclusion Act, the paper stories, the self-governing association, the riots, the suicides, etc.) supplemented by corresponding readings from the book.
Here’s the powerpoint for that talk. The notes to each slide will explain what I’d talk about and what I’d read from the book for that slide.
Because the talk includes a section on the Angel Island wall poems that I can optionally spend more or less time on, it can last anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, not counting time for Q&A.
The Talk to Writers
My talk to writers focuses more on the story of how the book was written: how I got the idea, the surprises I encountered along the way that turned into important elements in the final book, and the revision process with my critique group, my agent, and my editors. I also set aside time to give feedback to the students on their own writing. (e.g. a 20-25 minute talk followed by 10-15 minutes of critiquing student work, and then Q&A.)
Here’s the powerpoint I created for a specific appearance I made in September, 2024, where I spoke with about 50 students in the writing program at the Marin School of the Arts (Novato High School, Novato, California). It includes the student writing that I commented on so you can see the kinds of feedback I might give your writers.
Rebecca Pollack (RPOLLACK@nusd.org), the head of the creative writing program for the school, will be happy to answer any questions about my appearance there.