The Metro: Annual Detroit Youth Poetry Con returns March 9
The annual event, organized by InsideOut Literary Arts, incorporates many different creative professions to illustrate different career possibilities for students.
InsideOut Literary Arts will bring local poets and writers together for the annual event celebrating the spoken word.
InsideOut Literary Arts has transformed Detroiters through written and spoken word poetry since 1995. On March 9, the organization is bringing many poets and writers together for the annual Detroit Youth Poetry Con.
Suma Karaman Rosen joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the upcoming event. InsideOut serves thousands of kids every year, teaching students how to communicate and express themselves through poetry. These skills can then be transferred into many parts of students’ lives.
“I think the biggest thing is that they come away feeling like they’re part of something bigger, that they belong, and that there’s community and that they’re part of making that happen,” she said.
At the event, students can participate in creative writing and poetry workshops, Rosen said. Writer Ross Gay, Michigan Poet Laureate Nandi Comer and youth poets will also perform the evening of March 9.
Rosen says they’ve tried to include many different creative professions in the event, showing students different career possibilities.
“So creativity shows up all over the place. I think once we help young people connect with their own creativity, they can take it anywhere they want to go,” she said.
More headlines from The Metro on March 4, 2024:
- Eliminating the racial wealth gap is crucial for Detroit, a city with one of the largest Black populations in the country. Kristen Broady, director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, joined the show to discuss its impacts and ways to make the gap shrink.
- By 2030, its projected that 10% of cars on the road will be electric. National Association of Convenience Stores spokesman Jeff Lenard joined the show to discuss how this transition may impact store owners.
- Michigan could soon ban firearms at polling locations. Gongwer News reporter Nick Smith joined the show to discuss the proposed bill.
- A new Detroit Future City report says 5,000 Detroit properties are not legally owned by the families who inherited them. WDET’s Amanda LeClaire spoke with DFC Vice President Ashley Williams Clark.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
