Deep Center has named Khalil
Bush, an eighth grader from Isle of Hope K–8 School, as Deep Laureate for
spring 2019. This honor recognizes Khalil as Savannah’s “deepest” young author,
whose creative writing is among the most skilled, original, and fearless in the
county.
Khalil’s powerful letter, “Consider
Me,” won him the honor. “Winning Deep Laureate makes me feel excited, happy, a little
bit of everything!” said Khalil. “Before Deep, I wasn’t really writing, and I
would conceal all my feelings. Deep’s writing mentors helped me develop as a
writer by telling me to keep going, to not give up. Deep helped me be creative,
step out of my comfort zone, and just be me.”
Khalil was one of the 163
youths who completed Deep Center’s Young Author Project in the spring of 2019. He was voted to receive the honor by a
combination of his program peers, the general public through a social-media
campaign, and Deep’s staff. Works by all participating students have been
published in four anthologies, which are on sale for $12 at deepcenter.org
and
in circulation within the Live Oak Public Library system.
“Khalil’s writing is
courageous, honest, and dynamic,” explains Dare Dukes, executive director of
Deep Center. “He exemplifies the creativity, expressiveness, and fearless
leadership we foster at Deep Center. I know that Savannah is as proud of him as
we are at Deep Center.”
Deep has grown significantly
in its first ten years, and its Young Author Project is now serving 15 public
K-8 schools and middle schools. All 163 Deep young authors, selected by their teachers,
participated throughout the spring 2019 semester in a rigorous series of
after-school writing workshops that were taught by volunteers, who are
themselves creative writers.
