How To Be A Good Barbie
By Madeleine Quinn

Kick off your plastic high heels.
Dump Ken.
Lay in bed with eyes open.
Stay away from the dog!
Take care of the baby.
Be a doctor for one day.
Be a fashion model the next.
Move to Sunny-Ville
a.k.a. the basement.
Don’t be mad at Sally for not being a good hair stylist.
Have a sleepover with Theresa.
Tell Ken to stop singing lame songs in front of the Barbie dream house.
Change the world of the Barbies.

When I first read Maddy Quinn’s poem, I had to remind myself that these were the words of an incredibly insightful and creative 11-year-old girl. Maddy, like most young girls her age, lives a normal life. She’s in 6th grade, and lives with her parents and younger sister – Chloe, 7, who loves to sing – in Lower Queen Anne, where they moved four years ago from New York. She speaks conversational French with her mother, who is from Paris. Her favorite subjects are history and reading, specifically about wars throughout history, the Great Depression and “troubled times,” which she says inspires her work when she writes. And though she does love writing, Maddy doesn’t do it often. She’s more interested in learning – soaking in the world around her.

Yet her poem caught the attention of her mother and writing instructor, Margot Case, who teaches youth creative writing workshops at the Hugo House in Capitol Hill. Last spring when Maddy was in 5th grade her mother, Nancy, signed her up for a writing class as an extracurricular activity. “It’s interesting that you can tell what children are inclined to be good at at such an early age,” Nancy said. “That’s why I originally enrolled her – and I didn’t think she wanted to go – but it worked out.” Maddy had never taken creative writing before.

“The theme of it [the class] was to save the world – what we can do to make it greater.” Maddy said. Margot would give the kids everything from one theme or image – clippings of her favorite comic was one exercise Maddy remembered enjoying particularly well – to prompt the kids’ projects. When Margot gave them an example from a poet who’d written about how to be a good writer, the idea popped into Maddy’s head.

“I was really thinking about it the night before when I was playing with my sister. We were playing Barbies,” she said. “I was kind of in the mood for urban, ’50s Barbies – I love vintage. I thought that was a great topic.” “To bring to life,” her mother added.

And even though this was her first stab at it, Maddy says she loved the experience and has since been finding ways to be creative with her work. “I loved the class. I think I’m going to do it again…I got really inspired. I just felt like I could do anything…being part of the artsy world,” she said. “In school I write little stories and be creative with my writing.”

Hugo House, a Seattle-based writing center/non-profit, is just one of many organizations that offer writing workshops for kids of all ages throughout the year. 826 Seattle, part of the national 826 Valencia writing center network, is another great non-profit that specialized in classes for kids.

And though there are many classes Maddy could take throughout the year, she prefers one season for creativity above all others. “I really like the spring workshop because it’s right when all the flowers are blooming. I love that time. It’s a new beginning, the spring,” she said.