Do you like to write?  Enjoy kids?  Have an hour or two every other week to spare?

Maybe you should think about mentoring a young Taos writer!

Already seventeen years strong, the Young Writers’ Mentorship Program is one of the most cherished SOMOS offerings in the Taos community.  Hundreds of middle- and high-school-aged students have been discovering and developing the craft of writing in a non-institutional format, meeting with adult mentors one-on-one after school, once every week (or two) from February through April.

It’s a fun, free way to make a difference in the life of a Taos kid.  And it’s incredibly rewarding for the adult, as well. If you’re new to the experience, you may be surprised to find how much give-and-take there is in the process.

Mentorship offers an opportunity to share a common joy with a young person, to learn from one another, and to explore new avenues of interest – all the while forging a friendship and feeding the creative spark that makes your own work sing.

If you like writing songs, we’ll match you up with a kid who shares that interest.  Crazy about science fiction?  Explore alternate universes with a young person into the same kind of writing.  Poets, nature writers, journal-keepers – there’s room for everyone who’s willing to set aside a little time and share it with a young Taos writer.  And we’ll support you both with mentor training, fun workshops, ideas, check-ins, and other resources.

This year, Summer Wood will be running the program with the help of Rita O’Connell, a recent college grad with a big voice (if you get the chance to hear her sing, don’t miss it!) and a lot of great ideas for making the program even more engaging and relevant.  Rita’s a writer with a thriving creative life, and we’re thrilled to have her input to this year’s program.

We’ll be going into area schools to recruit students starting the first of February, and we’d love to have a full roster of mentors by then.

We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.  You may leave a message for Summer or for Rita at SOMOS, 575-758-0081, and one of us will call you back – or send an email to somos@somostaos.org with “mentorship” as the subject line, and we’ll reach you that way.