826LA is pleased to announce the publication of Rhythm of the Chain: Young Writers Explore Teamwork, a collection of prose and poetry written by the students of Animo Inglewood Charter High School and introduced by legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson.
Rhythm of the Chain, the first of 826LA’s student publications, brings together forty-two pieces unified by common focus: teamwork. Jackson, who conceived the teamwork theme and provided support throughout the writing process, marveled at the boundary-breaking creativity with which students approached the topic. Inside Rhythm of the Chain are reflections on unity within the African-American community, the mechanisms of gang violence, and the strength of friendship and family. There are stories about playing basketball and about attending the funeral of an estranged parent. And there is a screenplay, fifty-five pages long, about a teenager’s self-destructive entanglement in the drug trade.
Each of the forty-two contributing students worked through a multiple-draft writing process, receiving editorial assistance from 826LA volunteer tutors. Students and tutors collaborated three times a week for two months, working indoors on several sunny spring-break days. The entire bookmaking process — writing, editing, designing — was controlled by students.
All proceeds from the sale of Rhythm of the Chain go toward free student programming at 826LA.
Rhythm of the Chain is available at the following bookstores:
Read about Rhythm of the Chain in the Orange County Register.
Read a blog entry written by Dave Eggers about the student editorial board of Rhythm of the Chain.
Read blog entries written by our volunteer tutors about what it was like to work on Rhythm of the Chain here, here, and here.
Read a blog entry written by Annette Gonzales, an Animo Inglewood teacher, about her experience with Rhythm of the Chain.
