The Rail Writers summer experience has turned the DART Buckner station into a place that can catapult kids when it comes to reading and writing.
“We take kids on to the DART light rail into the city for a journey of writing, sharing and exploration. They can get out into their neighborhoods and experience what there is to offer,” executive director of the Writer’s Garret, Aaron Glover said. “The power of language is important. Not only to appreciate but also harness. If you’re a young writer, being able to articulate all of the incredible things that are happening in your mind, I think that is a superpower.”
The Writer’s Garret was incorporated in 1995 and is the oldest continually operating literary nonprofit in North Texas.
The Rail Writers is just one of several programs that they host. It started in 2016, but there were no rides in 2020 due to the pandemic.
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This year alone, there are 25 rides planned from five neighborhoods across the city including: Vickery Meadow, Pleasant Grove, West Dallas, Oak Lawn, and Downtown. The group expected more than 300 young riders from 12 different organizations across North Texas hoping to keep kids intellectually engaged through the summer.
“We kind of tailor each rode to where we are going. For instance, on this day they are going to Texas Discovery Gardens. They will specifically talk about nature and how things grow and then write about it in their journals. Reading and writing go hand in hand,” Glover said.
The program is free to the children who participate, thanks in part to the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, the Texas Commission on the Arts, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and the Neighborhood Resource Initiative.
