InsideOut News
Thanks to Sherry Ulery, Deputy Chief of Academic Affairs for Detroit Public Schools, InsideOut received an invitation to provide children with literary arts enrichment in the following 10 schools. We are grateful to the following schools and their writers who participated: Bagley Elementary (Sara Williams); Bennett Elementary (Blair; Nandi Comer); Bow Elementary (Rachel Harkai; Rhonda Welsh); Clippert Academy (Beth Divis; Ami Mattison); Edison Elementary (George Ramos); Gardner Elementary (Lara Hamza); Golightly Elementary (Stephan Johnson); Hanstein Elementary (Anna West); Logan Elementary (Norene Smith); and Mann Elementary (Sherina Sharpe). The classes met daily from 12:30 to 2 p.m for six weeks and feedback from teachers, principals and parents has been very positive. Scheherazade Parrish also conducted summer programming for InsideOut at the Matrix Human Services Center in Northeast Detroit through the Skillman-funded Osborn Arts Collaborative led by College for Creative Studies.
Article# 1009, Created Jul. 28, 2010
After three months of rehearsal, a flight across the stretch of the country, and a week of competition and community in Los Angeles, the four person team of Joseph Verge, Andrew Barnhill, Myra Robertson, and Jasmine Broadnax showed the Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival what Detroit is all about. Now in its 13th year sponsored by Youth Speaks, BNV is the largest ongoing spoken word event in the world, with 600 youth from 50 cities in the US and abroad participating. According to coach Ben Alfaro, “the beautiful part of Brave New Voices in comparison to other national slams is that the slam is the least important event of the week. Our students engaged in workshops led by world-class artists, participated in serious dialogue about the state of arts and arts funding in our country, and befriended hundreds of their peers from Hawaii to England as they traveled the wide avenues of southern California from Glendale to Beverly Hills. The competition was steep, and only by a slim margin (literally tenths of a point) did we miss advancement by taking tough losses to Albuquerque and Denver, both of whom made it to the final stage. In the competition, we saw eight poems from Detroit that relied on their intimacy with the audience, holding them captive. Our youth recited poem after poem with an electricity that neither I nor Jamaal had seen before. It was truly a monumental performance in these young writers' careers. It was a gift to share with them and an experience to remember for our lifetimes.”
Article# 1008, Created Jul. 28, 2010
Dear friends,
Since InsideOut’s wonderful Coming Up Taller Award, presented at the White House last November, our Citywide Poets’ (CWP) recognition as one of the premier after school youth arts programs in the country continues to soar. We are currently savoring the “just-in” news that four ‘Citywides’ were awarded Certificates of Merit in Poetry from the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, thanks to poems with such intriguing titles as “A Phrase About the Rain” (Paige Alston); “Around the Cotton Club” (Shennice Gossett); “Sacrifice of the Ordinary” (Robyn Arnett), and “Grip” (Olaposi Omishope). Their awards earned invitations to participate in the MYAF festival at Western Michigan University and meet other ‘best of’ student poets and artists from around the state.
In addition to the MYAF awards, InsideOut won a first ever Sun Life Financial Rising Star Award (including a $5,000 student scholarship) and have received many invitations for our youth to perform locally. The first months of 2010 saw CWP opening for Wayne State University’s Martin Luther King Day Tribute, WSU’s College of Education Summit and the Detroit Declaration’s State of the City town hall forum. Audiences frequently jump to their feet to applaud the courage and clarity of our students’ words. Whether riffing on love or confronting social injustice or personal loss, our young people give voice to what matters most in their lives. Truly, courage is what it takes to plumb one’s soul and send words out to the wider world.
Classroom teachers report that students walk taller, speak more comfortably in class, learn more about their classmates, and feel more confident as writers thanks to InsideOut. A recent evaluation found significantly improved reading and writing skills, deeper understanding of poetry, and improved attendance and achievement as well as strong indications of “mental health benefits” thanks to InsideOut. Administrators have reported dramatically improved test scores and fewer incidents of undesirable behavior when InsideOut is a part of their school.
I hope that you, dear reader, as a valued supporter, will also applaud and join the growing number of friends who appreciate the power of language and creative expression of young people. It has been over a year and a half since we sent out an annual appeal, but we are facing a critical cash flow shortage now. Let the springtime’s new growth bring an upsurge of support and love for the young poets whose words InsideOut is committed to nurturing and bringing to the world. Become an active part of our community of supporters. Celebrate and support our youth with your generous donation to InsideOut!
Sincerely yours,
Terry M. Blackhawk, Ph.D.
Founding Director
Article# 1003, Created May. 5, 2010
On the night of November 18th, the Museum of Contemporary Art was transformed into a house of words.
That night, 150 of our dearest and closest friends gathered together with us to celebrate and share in the joy of InsideOut receiving a 2009 Coming Up Taller Award from the President's Commission on Arts and Humanities.
In the words of First Lady Michelle Obama, Honorary Chairman of the Coming Up Taller committee, "The Coming Up Taller Award is the Nation's highest honor for after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs that serve young people. The President and I strongly believe that arts and humanities education is essential for nurturing creative thinkers who will be our Nation's future leaders."
MC'd by former Free Press columnist/local word-builder and InsideOut Board Member Desiree Cooper, youth poets from our nationally-acclaimed Citywide Poets program kicked out the spoken word jams and seized all of our attentions with poems about cultural rites of passage and birthday songs sung to the tune of elegies.
Events like this are testimony to the fact that although poetry is a solitary act that begins with one poet putting one pencil to paper, in the end the poem itself, in its final and spoken form, moves beyond the self and reaches out into the larger community. As InsideOut Board Member Marc K. Shaye pointed out in comments left to us on our five-foot wide message board hung up at MOCAD that night, "Moving us to new heights with your exciting words. Moving us to hidden emotions with your passion."
Yes, this is what happens when poetry comes to town, when InsideOut is welcomed into the White House. It welcomes us all. And in the words of the great Sufi poet Hafiz, in words written some 600 years ago, "Our words become the house we live in."
Ours is a house, and a community-ship, built to last.
To see event photos taken by InsideOut's favorite photographer, Elayne Gross, visit
http://www.elaynegrossphotography.com/.
Article# 1001, Created Dec. 14, 2009
Join the InsideOut Literary Arts Project in celebrating the selection of its Citywide Poets program as one of just 15 National Winners of the prestigious Coming Up Taller Award, an honor bestowed annually by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
Citywide Poet Myriha Burton and 2009 CWP alumna Lena Cintrón accompanied InsideOut Founder Dr. Terry Blackhawk to the White House where she is accepting the award November 4, 2009. Lena Cintrón received a standing ovation for her award-winning poem at an evening reception for CUT awardees hosted by the PCAH at the Kennedy Center on Nov. 3rd. Learn more about the Coming Up Taller Awards
InsideOut's selection rewards the tireless commitment of our students and professional writers, all of it made possible by the investment of countless supporters like you. As this award proves, poetry does pay after all.
See Desiree Cooper's Blog.
See Pete Markus' Blog (
http://petermarkus.com)
Article# 994, Created Nov. 4, 2009 :: Last Update: Dec. 2, 2009
Sterling C. Jones, Jr. was a founding member of the InsideOut Board of Directors. He served several terms as board president and remained active until only very recently. While director of Detroit Public Schools Gifted and Talented Education, he oversaw fine programs such as chess, debate, and oratory, and supported the literary efforts that became InsideOut. Sterling brought his passion for young people and his extraordinary integrity to bear on many decisions, helping to set the course of InsideOut. He donated generously of his time and resources and of himself. We will miss his great stories, his impeccable demeanor, his humor, his heart and his enthusiasm for our students as they write their worlds. Rest in Peace, dear Sterling.
Article# 980, Created Aug. 17, 2009
Dear Friends,
The InsideOut Literary Arts Project is looking for your help.
For the past 15 years, InsideOut has placed creative writersâ€â€
Article# 979, Created Aug. 11, 2009 :: Last Update: Aug. 11, 2009
