Meet InsideOut’s 2011 Brave New Voices Slam Team!

Joseph Terrell Verge is a 16 year old poet attending Arts Academy in the Woods High School. He has been writing ever since 10 years old and joined InsideOut at age 12. This is his third consecutive time on the Citywide Poets youth slam team. Joseph has been awarded five “Spirit of Detroit” awards by the Detroit City Council. He has performed at the Wayne State University Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Max Fisher Music Center. This year he was given the opportunity to perform at the White House. He is inspired by fellow poets in Detroit and other parts of the world and wants to bring back all of the knowledge he gains back to his community.



Justin Rogers is a two-time Citywide Poets Youth Slam team member. He is currently attending Wayne State University for Art Education. Justin performs his poetry and teaches workshops throughout the city of Detroit, using poetry as a tool for spreading literacy and learning among young people. Participating in the 2010 Rhythm, Roots, and Rhyme Poetry Slam sponsored by the Detroit Jazz Festival and winning the 2011 Larry Colter Poetry Prize at Henry Ford Community College are among his recent accomplishments. He has been involved with InsideOut Literary Arts Project since the fall of 2009. He is currently a writer in residence with InsideOut and a member of InsideOut’s Citywide Agents youth leadership program.



Breeana Blackmon was born in Los Angeles California but has lived in Detroit for most of her life. She is 17 years old and recently graduated from The Roeper School. She began writing poetry in 2007 and has participated in Citywide Poets since 2010. She has also participated in the Peace Project’s Street Poets Society as well as InsideOut’s Citywide Agents. She won the 2011 Michigan State Poetry Slam Finals in Mackinac. She will be attending Babson College in Massachusetts in the fall to study Business and Entrepreneurship.



Devin Magee likes good pens, shoes, and hair dye. He has been writing since he knew his letters and has been learning performance poetry for four years. He really hopes to never find a reason to stop. He recently graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School where he is a member of the Grosse Pointe South Slam Team. He will be attending Moore College of Art and Design in the fall in Philadelphia, where he will be studying Photography and Creative Writing. This year he placed third at the Michigan State Poetry Slam Finals in Mackinac and traveled to the White House to be honored by Michelle Obama.



Ariana Washington is a Junior at University Prep High School. She has been in Citywide Poets for the past two years. This is her first time on the slam team. She was among the poets who recently traveled to Washington, DC to be honored at the White House and also performed at the Wayne State University 2011 MLK Day Celebration. She is a member of the Citywide Agents who has helped facilitate workshops at organizations throughout the Detroit area, including the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park and the Street Poets Society at Youthville.



Andrew Barnhill graduated from University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 2010. He is currently an English Major at Wayne State University. He has been a member of Citywide Poets for the past three years and this is his third time as a member of the youth poetry slam team. He performed at the 2011 Wayne State University MLK Day Celebration at the Max Fisher Music Center.