Nearly everyone knows about YMCA’s youth sports, health and wellness programs, but Syracuse’s downtown YMCA is recognized for much more. Motivated by ideas from creative people like poet Phil Memmer, the YMCA developed the Downtown Writer’s Center (DWC) to provide Syracuse with diverse art and literature programs.

At first, it was a small program with five poetry and fiction workshops that invited four writers annually. But with high neighborhood interest, the DWC has grown to host more than 20 writers and 40 various workshops yearly and has expanded into non-fiction and drama.

Creative writing workshops are interactive and are geared towards all ages and writing levels. Their visiting author reading series has expanded to feature new novelists, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning poets! Today the YMCA is looking to expand and further renovate the Writer’s Center and Gallery Art space to accommodate the growing number of participants.

The Writer’s Center is only one of the many programs the YMCA offers; others include aquatics, health and wellness, sports and music lessons.  To learn more, visit Downtown Syracuse YMCA.

For more information about Connective Corridor venues, visit the Venues section of this website.