Luckily, I got involved with 826LA when it opened its doors last month. Since that time, I have been tutoring at Animo Inglewood, helping out with the Phil Jackson Teamwork project: a forthcoming student-written anthology in which scores of talented young writers delve deep, tackling the proposed theme in unconventional ways.

In just a few weeks I have read poems and essays, fiction and even inadvertent sestinas telling stories worthy of Random House book contracts: the daughter of an HIV victim who attends and eventually helps run a Malibu summer camp designed for teenagers in her predicament; a girl who painfully watched her brother get mugged one block away from school; the finger-biting anticipation of a student’s Quinceañeras (15th birthday celebration); a son powering a family through his terminal mother’s quickly debilitating health.

Still, it wasn’t until last week’s student editorial board meeting — of which I only caught the last 10 minutes — that I really saw the kind of teamwork that defines Animo. Having spent most of the afternoon line-editing a few last-minute pieces with students, I entered a classroom to see desks arranged in a wonderfully jagged circle. Which, it seemed, is how the conversation about the book’s title had been going for the last thirty minutes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve observed editorial meetings defined by direct aggression: political orders shot down from the high levels of an impersonal publishing aristocracy. But here, the writers respected each other and wanted to hear each other out.

When a title suggestion was made — one, for example, included the word “starve” — the students ruminated about the nature of the word — how it might not present a positive attitude. Also broached — and pleasantly worked over — was the issue of whether or not the title should convey that all of the essays might not exactly glorify teamwork. Throughout, I found the alliterative and poetic suggestions both impressive and presciently mindful of the book-publishing reality all of us in the literary arts must stomach.

It was a heartening experience, watching each student offer his or her ideas. These young writers are refreshingly invested in this book — its construction, content, image, and, yes, longevity. And that’s what, ultimately, will render it a great addition to anyone’s library.

Adam Baer writes frequently for the Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, and other publications.