Brave New Voices: Meet The Team!

The 2013 Slam Team is comprised of members of iO’s award-winning after-school program Citywide Poets along with youth poets who participated in the 2013 CWP slam competition. CWP members perform at special venues around Metro Detroit, see their work published in an anthology, take national awards for their poetry, and compete to attend the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam. This year’s team will represent Detroit and iO in Chicago. The team is coached by veteran poets Ben Alfaro, francine j. harris and Justin Rogers. Norene Cashen directs Citywide Poets. 

Meet the Team:

Terrell S. Morrow

Terrell S. Morrow is a 2013 grad of Mumford HighSchool. He found his home with CityWide Poets through literary opportunities in school. He first discovered his poetic voice when he was only nine- years-old and from then on he set out to enlighten others through words and even music. He is a published author in 2013’s Detroit Writes Detroit. He expects to continue excelling in poetry with the help of InsideOut.

Briana Sanders

Briana Sanders is a 2013 grad of Renaissance High School and current student at Howard University. She enjoy long walks on the beach, books and chocolate. She has been writing since the fourth grade.

Samuel Taylor

Samuel Taylor is a 17 year old poet. He attends Martin Luther King Jr. Sr. High School in Detroit. He plans on going to UCLA to major in education. Samuel has been writing poetry since 6th grade. Poetry, he believes, is a story that’s worth telling. He has participated in many slams around Michigan and won quit a few of them. Samuel is an activist who is trying to spread good words and make a difference.

Victor Shaw

Victor Shaw spent the first 11 years of his life in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, then the rest in the Grosse Pointe Park. He graduated from Grosse Pointe South High school in 2012 and’ will study English at Wayne State University this autumn. He’s participated in Grosse Pointe’s poetry workshop for three years, and has been writing for about as long. He’s excited to now be a part of Citywide Poets and InsideOut, and feels ready to contribute to something greater than himself.