Creative Youthful Voices
This week, we’re celebrating the youthful voices that bring vibrancy, energy, and a kind of fearless enthusiasm to our craft. Do you remember when you once looked at the world through a different lens — young, tireless, and ready? When everything felt newly discovered, and every path was one you could take?
Back then, nothing was impossible. Challenges weren’t obstacles; they were invitations. We hadn’t yet learned caution, or efficiency, or the quiet pressure to be “legitimate.” And that rawness — that unfiltered curiosity — is what gives youthful writing its edge.
These young creators aren’t bound by productivity metrics or polished technique. They experiment. They chase their own voice. They stand at poetry slams and read their hearts out. They hammer out novels in wild, breathless bursts that leave you hungry for the next chapter. They pick up thrift-store cameras, load them with film, and capture old-world objects in startling new light.
Their work reminds us of who we were before obligations and expectations bricked us into our silos. So this week, I invite you to crack open that shell — that slow-growing armor of rigidity — and explore these youthful voices with me. Celebrate their courage. Celebrate their beginnings. And maybe rediscover a piece of your own.
-Scott
What’s in the Cove
In Author at the Shore, Angie shares her conversation with poet Melany Slaughter, whose work carries the spark of a rising generation.
On The Podcast Deck, we highlight the latest Mermaid’s Tale episode featuring fellow traveler and graphic designer Rachel Clawson.
And in Creative Depths, Scott reflects on the renewed love for film photography, typewriters, and LPs among today’s youth — a movement that leads naturally into a handful of curated treasures waiting for you in Driftwood Finds.
To begin our exploration of youthful creativity, we turn to a poet whose work embodies that emerging spark: Melany Slaughter.
Author at the Shore: Melany Slaughter
When I first met Melany she was covering an event for the Gazette-Journal in Gloucester, VA, where she has worked as a reporter for the past seven years. The event was a local book festival in which Mermaid Cove was participating. A few weeks later I was delighted to hear from Melany when she contacted me to submit her poetry manuscript. I will say I was very touched by this collection of poems which centers around the loss of her grandmother who passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Her poetry is deep and heartfelt, allowing the reader to be drawn into her grief and even her healing. Most of Melany’s collection centers on her walk through grief, from immediate aftermath through the first year of loss. Her stage of healing and moving forward in her life rounds out the full collection.
I sat down with Melany in preparation for a future appearance on our Mermaid’s Tale Podcast, and we discussed the unfolding of her first poetry collection, Until the Cardinals Carry Me Home.
If you could describe your collection in three words, what would they be?
Heartbreaking, hopeful, spiritual
Which poem was the most emotionally challenging to write, and why?
The most emotionally challenging poem I wrote was “What I Said at Your Funeral (What I wish I said at your funeral).” It is a complete deconstruction of the eulogy I wrote for MawMaw. There are so many things I wish I could have said during that time. I wish I had been able to call out the preacher for chewing gum during the service. I wish I could have told my family that the end of my grandmother’s life felt like the end of mine too. I wish I had been able to tell people I knew I would be struggling for a long time, maybe forever. The experience of writing this poem was very freeing and cathartic for me, even though it forced me to revisit one of the hardest days of my life.
Is there a poem in the book that feels like the “heart” of the collection?
“Divine Love” feels like the heart of the collection for me. I was able to express my grief over her death, my gratitude for her life, and the faith that I will one day see her again, all in that one poem.
These voices don’t end here. We took one further…
From the Podcast Deck
We recently took a deep dive with another young voice, this time on the design side. In our most recent Mermaid’s Tale Podcast, we sat down with Rachel Clawson and talked graphic design, social media, and photography. Rachel is an award-winning graphic designer, art director, social media manager, and photographer. Rachel shares how she built her career, the design principles that guide her work, and the unique blend of artistry and strategy she brings to every project. Whether you're a designer, photographer, or someone who loves the craft behind beautiful visuals, this conversation offers insight, inspiration, and a behind‑the‑scenes look at how intentional design really happens.
This episode sparked something Scott has been lingering on for awhile now…
Creative Depths
I remember not too long ago, less than 10 years I would say, when you could walk through a thrift store and purchase an LP, film camera or manual typewriter for next to nothing. At one store, they were selling crates of LP’s for $10! Not anymore. I mentioned to a merchant at checkout recently that I felt like I was buying back my old LP’s at their original price or more now! Typewriters that were selling for $10 or less now go for $80 and up. I recently picked up a wet plate (collodion) camera at an antique store for $115 and felt I hit the jackpot!
Seeing the youth of our nation walking out of these stores with armloads of LP’s and 35mm cameras or humping a 1940’s Remington typewriter back to their car got me thinking. These were the technology of their time. The iPad, the smart phone and the Spotify. Utilitarian in nature, they served a purpose that changed the way we lived. Cameras of all kinds and styles recorded our world and our people for others to enjoy for generations. Typewriters enhanced writing, made it standard and easy to read and readily reproducible. Records (LP’s) brought the singer and the bands into our living rooms where we could listen to them at our leisure. Look at what we have now! Why go back?
Some of us were there, before the phones, before the computers. But the youth were not. Recently at a festival, I set up a table with a manual typewriter and some blank paper, sat down and started typing. Whatever came to my mind I typed. The older generations were like, “Now that’s a sound that I have not heard in a long time,” and then kept walking. But not young people. They stopped, they looked and asked, “Can I try?” As I gave them the controls to their very own manual typing machine, you could see the look of determination in their eyes and then the glee on their faces as they discovered what was old as new.
I imagine the experimentation today’s youth are taking with their film cameras. Picking their subjects, focusing their cameras, releasing the shutter, and then sending the film off. Having to wait, and then, when the developed pictures returned, eagerly looking at their photos. Amazed at what went right and laughing at what went wrong. The old, in the hands of the youth. The possibilities are endless and I for one can’t wait to see what new world they see through an old lens or what new story is brought to life on an old, clacking and sticking typewriter!
Speaking of discovery, we have these curated treasures to share with you…
Driftwood Finds
We found another photographer who walks the film camera shoreline. Nick Carver loves shooting film. Especially if it’s in the desert. https://youtu.be/O1daTKZa2aE?si=3HMjJ4MLXaLe0jqc
While we’ve been wandering deeper into the magic of film photography, we found a fantastic place for developing — and we had to pass it along. https://filmdeveloping.co/
If poetry resonates with you, we came across a great site offering 100 thoughtful prompts we wanted to pass along. https://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts/poetry-prompts/100-poetry-prompts
The cove is richest when it flows in every direction—including back to the youthful voices.
Mermaid Cove Publishing is keeping an eye on the horizon for emerging and youthful storytellers. If you write literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, or fantasy, we’d love to read what you’re creating. Drop us a line; we’d love to start a conversation with you.
The Closing Current
We’re grateful you chose to spend this moment with us. We hope the stories and reflections from our younger voices left you feeling a little more inspired, a little more connected. There’s something beautiful about watching new creators find their way.
We’ll step into the adventurous side of art and writing next time. Until then, read something that moves you — and write something that feels true. You have a story, tell it.
Seek it. Explore it. Live it.
Au revoir!
True life mermaids (or mermen) believe in themselves, they embrace their creativity and live life to the fullest.
