Youth Angst Society Provides Outlet for Fledgling Writers

Becoming a good writer is difficult enough. But the problem for many authors is not getting the words on the paper but getting those words heard by others. Just ask anyone who has tried to get public exposure for his private musings.

"Writers are meant to be read, and any forum that facilitates an author's public dissemination of his or her work is a good thing," junior Christopher Lamb said.

For aspiring writers in the UNC community the Youth Angst Society provides such an outlet.

Youth Angst, which was formed in the fall of 1997 by English and drama major Dan Kois, seeks to provide such a forum for writers to share and discuss their work in a professional yet relaxing setting, said Youth Angst event coordinator Nell Brewer.

Kois went on to become a full-time writer after graduating from UNC -- an indication of the caliber of talent behind the Youth Angst Society.

"This is an opportunity for serious writers to share their work and a great opportunity to come hear new talent," Brewer said.

On the first Wednesday of each month, the bookshelves of the Bull's Head Bookshop are removed to make way for folding chairs and tables filled with tea and cookies -- the written word is literally pushed aside for the spoken word.

The setting of the Youth Angst Society's meetings, among the book-filled walls and hardwood floors of the Bull's Head, lends an intimacy that creates an environment of openness and acceptance for both reader and audience.

"Reading in public really exposes what you've written," said junior Rachel Berry, an English major. "We have to read all of our stuff in workshop, but in front of a group of people you don't necessarily know, what parts of your work do and don't work really show."

Berry, who read her poem "January 21st: The Feast of St. Agnes," was one of several writers who read prize-winning pieces from last semester's issue of The Cellar Door literary magazine at the September meeting of Youth Angst.

"The Cellar Door and the Youth Angst Society teamed up, so with every issue, prize-winners have a special reading at Youth Angst," said junior Dorothy Ball, an editor of The Cellar Door.

Though Youth Angst often works in conjunction with fellow writing outlets like The Cellar Door, it is independent of student organizations and receives no student fees. Instead, the society is sponsored entirely by the Bull's Head Bookshop.

This means the writers who share their works at Youth Angst meetings are free to choose from a multitude of genres and topics, from short stories and poetry to songs accompanied by acoustic guitar.

Regardless of the genre in which writers express their art, authors like senior Michael Jones agree that feedback from their peers is essential in honing their craft.

"(The Youth Angst Society and The Cellar Door) help you develop confidence when you are published and recognized and realize the need to revisit the drawing board when you're not," Jones said. "They are nice opportunities for beginning writers like myself who need to develop confidence to gain invaluable exposure."

Through providing writers with an outlet to share their works with others, the Youth Angst Society provides a unique forum for a passion in which audiences are hard to come by.

"In such a literary place like Chapel Hill, it can be kind of hard to know where to start," said Berry. "Youth Angst provides a line to go from."

The Youth Angst Society meets at 5 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the Bull's Head Bookshop.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.