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This website is a collaborative effort designed  by students and teachers through the Hudson Valley Writing Project and the National Parks Service.

Get involved today: courageouswriters@gmail.com

  • Eleanor Roosevelt

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt

  • Louise and Frederick Vanderbilt

  • Courageous Writers Blog

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  • For Kids

  • For Teachers

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    Courageous Writers: Hyde Park

    Exploring the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites Through Writing, Interviews, and Art

    PROMPT: FDR's Trees as Metaphors

    July 22, 2016

    After studying FDR's tree plantations, what metaphors can you draw between forests and the writing process, or about forests and courage?

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    Under FDR’s House…

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Ali Walker, age 16

    Today we were on a tour of FDR’s House. After exploring the bottom floor of the house everybody moved upstairs. As I looked through the rooms I came across the lift FDR uses to move between floors. I took a step on it causing the lift to fall below the bottom floor crashing into the void below. I ended up falling down with...

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    Forgetting to Remember: A Guide On Facing The Inevitable

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Allegra Walker, age 14

    Holmes...

    Lawrence...

    Rowley...

    These are names hanging off nails and loose memories. No one remembers the servants from the Roosevelt house. Sure, people know that they existed but they were never wondered or asked about.

    Do you ever wonder if that will happen to you?

    Do you realize that you could fade away without a single mem...

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    Facade

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Aaron Swartz, age 15

    Constantly dispelling

    Continually reforming

    Never quite here or there

    Intangible but perceivable

    Look closer

    Deeper

    Beyond the facade

    The gaudy colors are nothing more than illusion

    The blackness is real

    The darkness stands tall

    Nearly hidden but always present

    The facade is of no use

    As good as a twisted soul behind a pretty face

    Look

    D...

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    Never Ending…

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Dominic Sullivan, age 14

    “Help”

    I come to a place

    seeking guidance.

    I find more than that.

    I find help and new-found knowledge.

    Friends worth talking to and sharing with.

    I mainly found courage to start writing again.

    I hope others do more than me,

    even more than I can imagine.

    Special thanks

    to the “Courageous Writers”.

    “Happiness”

    Sometimes I hear

    People say...

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    “Long Ago”

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Sharan Sekhon, age 14

    Drip, Drip, Drip

    Squeak.

    Drip, Drip, drip

    Squeak.

    A memory of

    A rainy day with people

    Running for cover

    Is all that is left

    Besides

    Squeaky floorboards and tattered sheets

    Long ago the stories that are told

    Were stories that were lived

    Long ago glass windows

    Didn’t exist

    Barring you from entering the room

    The dusty ghosts of the past

    Whisp...

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    “Forgotten Friend”

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Hanna Ranis, age 11

    A forgotten friend lies, reunited with former glory.

    A winter night, rain pattering on the roof, like an old friend calling, reminding you of forgotten days.

    An aisle, fit for a bride, clothed in lush, leafy emerald. Cream and saffron dotting it all.

    A forgotten friend lies, reunited with former glory.

    A winter night, rain patt...

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    FDR...

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Amelia Pozniak, Age 12

    Strong willed

    True hope

    A new light

    Our freedoms horoscope

    Fought strong

    Freed us from all of our wrongs

    A brave man

    Who kept true

    To all of his promises, through and through

    Now he lays

    Under stone

    Only footsteps from his home

    Wind roaring, country crumbling

    Starvation growing, Poverty soaring

    A new deal, he did create

    To free our countr...

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    “Little Things”

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Skylar Lindley, age 14

    Many things to explore; many things to see.

    The Vanderbilt garden is where I’ll hold onto the idea of peace.

    The shadows of the trees that hover above me;

    With towering leaves that sway.

    The petals of the flowers embark a sense of purity.

    Whether sharp or round.

    The lavished sound of silence is wonderful to hear.

    It gets me caught...

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    Letter to Sweden

    July 22, 2016

    |

    Zoë Henry, age 12

    Dear Mother,

    I miss Sweden. It is too hot in Hyde Park. If I had known about how drastic the change in weather was in America, I would never have left. My minimal knowledge of the language hasn’t been helpful, either. At least the Vanderbilt house is nice, though its insane size is a bit overwhelming.

    It’s also a bit over the...

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    Older Posts >

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    Congratulations to all our 2018 Courageous Writers!

    August 29, 2018

    2017 Courageous Writers Anthology Published!

    August 4, 2017

    Teachers Write Their Own "My Days"

    August 4, 2017

    Letter Writing from Servants at Vanderbilt

    March 30, 2017

    Object Writing from Springwood

    March 29, 2017

    Responses from a Virtual Field Trip

    March 27, 2017

    Preserving a Legacy of Victory