Video: Young Writers Take to the Stage at First Open Mic Show

Local youth joined experienced writers from the Redmond Association of Spokenword (RASP) for a first-ever open mic and poetry slam event at the on Saturday.

The event culminated a month-long series of competitive writing workshops that were organized by RASP and sponsored by the Redmond Arts Commission and Friends of the Redmond Library. At each workshop, a local author taught teens about a specific genre of writing, including poetry, comedy, science fiction and more.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Villa of Redmond said she decided to participate in the workshops to practice her short-story techniques. She also read one of her stories aloud for the first time at Saturday's open mic session.

Anna said her favorite part of writing is getting to use her imagination.

"I love the ability just to create worlds that you've completely invented on your own," she said.

Laura Lee Bennett, a RASP member who helped organize the workshop series, said the group wanted to reach out to young writers and encourage them to share their work with others.

“The idea is that we draw the kids in (and) introduce them to forms of writing that are not only fun and entertaining but give them something to look forward to and use as they’re working in the world,” Bennett said.

RASP will likely offer another workshop series for teens in the spring, Bennett said.

Click on the video above to see more from Saturday's open mic and poetry slam.