Emily is a new contributor to Young Writers Project, and this is her first attempt at recording herself reading a piece. As she put it, "Geronimo!"

Noah writes, ""This last poem is about bad decisions. I have made some of those recently (nothing illegal, don't worry) and I was a bit depressed about it, so I wrote a poem."

Avery writes: "I wrote this poem for my best friend's birthday. She writes poetry herself and is a very inspiring person all the way around. I learn a lot from her!"

Aiden is Young Writers Project's single most prolific and multifaceted music contributor. His talents range from acoustic guitar, to scoring entire musicals, to composing electronic music. Here is one of his most recent and popular songs.

This week's Young Writers Project selection by ninth-grader Lydia Smith takes a surprising look at the limited time we have to spend.

Olivia writes: "I am inspired by my family."

Claire MacQueen writes, "I've always found cheesy puns funny, but I've always assumed that's not an opinion shared by a lot of people."

Senator Bernie Sanders discusses the wind power moratorium in the state, gasoline prices and other issues, and we learn about Vermont Writes Day.

Luna writes about her poem, "Although I'm lucky to be going to a friendly, supportive school, I hear lots of stories about other schools where situations are a bit more bleak. This inspired me to write the poem."

Bethany Conner writes: "“My Language Arts teacher was trying to explain how light works, and said something about, ‘If your hand was somehow turned invisible, it wouldn't exist.’ ...I went home and wrote a poem about how that made me feel."

Sam writes,"I originally started the piece as a song a few years ago but never continued with it."

Neisha writes: "Magician Boy is a poem I wrote about my boyfriend who I have been with since February."

Ada writes that her piece was inspired by "a picture of a girl sitting down and leaning on her arm, her hair blowing in the wind. Beneath her, mostly covered by her shadow, is a heart drawn in the sand."

Bianca Caputo of Hazen Union High School writes: "When I was in my sophomore year, I went on a writing kick. That same year I started night running and it helped deal with a bunch of my problems. Writing is another outlet for me so the two naturally came together."

This piece was written beneath the clouds, and has since been chosen for publication in the YWP anthology. This recording was made from a live reading at our anthology release party in front of a hushed crowd of over 150 people.

Jessica Austin reads her poem Unimpaired.

Abby Brown of West Dover reads her essay, Seeing Isn't Always Believing.

Eighth-grader Kamli Faour's poem I Stand Tall.

Margaret Slate of Peoples Academy says: “My reason for writing is simple: it lets me express feelings that nothing else can."

Noa Urbaitel, a sophomore at CVU, has been writing since she could speak, which, as her parents can tell you, has been far too long.

Sophie writes: "Poetry changed the way I look at the world. When I write, the words just pour out from inside of me and when I step back and look at what I have written, I can finally understand what I’m feeling."

"The first idea of 'Kilkarkee Fair' began forming while I made my bed one morning," writes Aliza Silverstein.

Julia Seaman, a sophomore at Hanover High School, says, "Writing, especially poetry, allows me to express my feelings and thoughts in a way I can't when I'm just talking. My truest voice comes out when I write."

Elizabeth Cummin, a junior at Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho, says, "I write in order to communicate with my otherwise very jumbled brain.”