Insideout Literary Arts Project

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“By immersing students in the joy and power of poetry and literary self- expression, insideout inspires them to think broadly, create bravely and share their voices with the wider world. Guided by professional writers and celebrated by publications and performances, youth learn that their stories and ideas matter and that their pens can launch them off the page into extraordinary lives.”

“Narrative for 990 (fy2020) insideout serves the community year-round through in-school, afterschool and public programming. This year (2019-2020) saw the unique challenge of the covid19 pandemic intersect with intensified calls to action for racial justice. Insideout responded to both of these through self-reflection and staff feedback which led to enhanced training and program development. Our in-school creative writing residencies served 2,314 students at 31 schools in detroit, dearborn, highland park, oak park, redford and river rouge (11 elementary, 7 middle and 13 high schools) for a total of 1,104 hours of direct in-classroom sessions. Insideout placed 28 professional writers in classrooms to engage students in the power of the literary arts, and enhance core academic and social and emotional skills. The program infused poetry, spoken word, and other multimedia arts experiences into academic skill-based instruction that builds reading and writing competencies, particularly for the detroit area's most vulnerable students. Insideout published 17 schools' student anthologies, printing 1,715 copies for students and schools. In-person programs ended with the stay-at-home order in march. Following the school closures, we asked our writers to create lesson plans that could be shared online, and designed the insideout at home page on our website to make tools available to schools and families. Teachers responded with appreciation for these resources: "i can't thank you enough for compiling/sharing all these resources." the classroom teacher from marygrovep20, whose residency continued online, took time to describe the quality and value of the experience: "simply put, it has to happen. This program... Is everything that education should be. I am very protective of my instructional time, and i am so impressed with shawntai schools coordinator and jassmine writer-in-residence i even see myself willing to extend an invitation to integrate insideout into my core class, as i feel i would not be 'sacrificing' anything -- in fact i see it as a gain." citywide poets served 388 students in person across 16 afterschool sites for a total of 388 sessions and 852.5 hours of service before the pandemic. Teens discussed and shared their work with peers and visiting artists, and performed at open mics, slams and community events. These opportunities, along with the weekly sessions, allow students to gain supportive relationships, build leadership and coping skills, and imagine a vision for their future. We added assistants to every site to better meet youth program quality standards for staff-to-student ratios, and provide greater physical and emotional safety. Following the school closures in march, citywide poets shifted to virtual programming, offering twice-weekly virtual sessions on zoom, and weekly (and then bi-weekly) open mics hosted on instagram. This platform was also utilized to provide daily writing prompts, daily shares of photos and students' work. We served 49 students through live, virtual programming and had an additional 1,171 contacts through static content on our website and social media platforms. Community programming included 46 public performances by youth poets enjoyed by 3,578 audience members. In-person open mic participation ranged from 15-20 students at our first draft open mic series; our scratch the page visiting writer series served 25-45 students per session, with 10-15 students performing live each time. Our teen performance troupe, launched in march, maintained weekly coaching sessions and public speaking virtually through the summer; they performed at digital events and online panels. Our annual youth poetry festival, louder than a bomb, was renamed essential words and took place entirely online from april 30 - may 7. Each day of programming included a group discussion facilitated by insideout staff via zoom in which youth were encouraged to decompress with music, meditation, and conversation. The digital fest”