Will my name be shouted out? reaching inner city students through the power of writing

Will My Name Be Shouted Out? is the heart-rending and inspiring story of writer Stephen O'Connor and his junior-high students in New York City. Nearly all the students have lost a relative or friend to violence and drugs. Some of the students have been raped, many have been beaten, some by their own parents. All of them are fearful and anxious, some are angry, far too many already accept the inevitability of their own failure. Stephen O'Connor's job is to teach these children to write poems, stories, and plays. His challenge is to find the ways in which writing might help them save their lives.