This document is a compilation of 68 items that were written by Ohio adult basic and literacy education students and presented at the Fifth Annual Ohio Writers' Conference, which was devoted to the theme "writing and the arts." The compilation is organized in seven sections as follows: (1) choices (8 items, including a poem expressing its author's feelings about having a chronic disease and an essay about a man's journey from a foster home and prison to literacy education); (2) feelings (14 poems and essays revealing individuals' feelings about events and experiences such as death, pregnancy, losing a loved one, and loving two men); (3) people (17 poems and essays recalling people who had made a special impact on the authors' lives, as well as a rap inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's poem "Annabel Lee"); (4) learning (8 poems and essays describing their authors' experiences with and attitudes toward learning); (5) nature (10 poems); (6) places (5 items, including a short story and poems on places in the United States and abroad); and (7) potpourri (6 essays and poems on topics ranging from a cherished pet to childhood recollections). Biographies of the authors and a list of honorable mention authors whose works were not included in the compilation are also presented. (MN)