Departmental Overview 

The Literary Arts program at Oakland School of the Arts is a rigorous introduction to the practice of writing, with a focus on publication. The program is driven by a faculty of published authors who are, in equal measure, dedicated teachers. Intensive, craft-oriented writing workshops—with literature and literary analysis folded into the curriculum—comprise the core of the program. Students take four eighteen-week workshops per year, building their literary portfolios and participating in adjudicated presentations at the close of each semester. Typical workshops include such courses as Poetry, Contemporary Global Fiction, and Enizagam.

OSA Enizagam~seeks to fill the existing void in nationally respected secondary-student-run literary publications. The journal’s editorial mission is to promote the literary arts by introducing high-caliber fiction and poetry to traditional and emerging readerships. Its content is comprised of submissions from writers living in the U.S. and beyond, as well as the winning and finalist entries of an annual contest: the~OSA Enizagam~Literary Awards in Poetry and Fiction. Students taking this course gain first-hand experience of the nuts and bolts of publishing a national literary journal. Students also manage an international contest, OSA Enizagam Literary Awards in Poetry in Fiction, that is posted by Poets & Writers.

Two prizes of $1,000 and publication are awarded annually for a short story and a group of poems. All finalists are considered for publication, and a reading of the winning pieces is broadcast online. For full contest guidelines, visithttp://oakarts.submishmash.com or click on the “Enizagam Literary Contest” link on OSA's homepage. Contest entry fees flow directly into the Literary Arts program budget. 2012 judges will be Lemony Snicket (AKA Daniel Handler) for Fiction and Nikki Giovanni for Poetry. More information is available at:  http://enizagam.org

Students also have access to extraordinary professional opportunities, including (last April) the chance to perform onstage with Sean Penn, and (every year) the experience of speaking intimately with notable guest speakers who visit our Literary Arts classrooms. 2010-11 guest speakers include Daniel Alarcón, Lemony Snicket, Novella Carpenter, Ariel Schrag, Chinaka Hodge, Dylan Schaffer and Michelle Tea. Students are also exposed to literary events and activities such as lectures, seminars, readings by published authors, writers’ conferences, internships, apprenticeships and publishing house tours. 2010-11 internships are with best-selling author Lisa Schiffman (whose memoir, Generation J, was published by Harper Collins and earned national acclaim) and Tavia Stewart-Streit (acclaimed writer and founder of Invisible City Audio Tours).

With Lisa, students learn the skill and art of “food writing,” witness how products travel from the field to the fork, and publish their work on a website with a large readership: www.tuttifoodie.com. With, students are individually mentored by a team of published writers who will also serve as their editors for the ICAT project: Students will produce an auditory tour, which will be launched online at www.invisiblecityaudiotours.org. OSA also extends its literary offerings to the community via the Summer Writers’ Workshops. The workshops serve CA youth and adults, awarding need-based scholarships to students who would not otherwise have the means to enroll.

In short: OSA’s Literary Arts program provides a private school experience on a shoestring budget. Per-pupil, public ADA funding does not support once cent of OSA's arts budget.

We do a lot - and we pay for it with 1) the contest fees submitted by OSA Enizagam Literary Awards in Poetry and Fiction entrants and 2) the support of the Bay Area's strategic and dedicated philanthropic community. To support our young writers, please consider joining Wells Fargo Bank and Keith Stephenson, Founder and Owner of Purple Heart Patient Center, as a Literary Angel! Contact Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, Literary Arts Chair, at 510.919.3203 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  to find out how you can earn your wings.