Just when we thought the year could not get any better at iO, we’re pleased to announce more exciting news. IO’s founding donor, Hollywood film producer, Bob Shaye, has just pledged a generous matching grant of up to $25,000. Shaye continues to believe, as do we, in the value of encouraging Detroit’s youngest…

Get Versed is InsideOut Literary Arts’ annual showcase of students performing original work on stage at the premier Detroit Film Theater inside of the Detroit Institute of Arts. The hour-long show has been hailed as one of the best ways to spend $5.00 in Detroit. The curtain goes up on…

Produced as an Undergraduate Research Project through Wayne State’s Honors College by WSU instructor Joel Silvers and Department of Film Studies student Erik Daniel,  ”A Poet in Every Classroom” explores the unique dynamic between instructors and students.  The 17-minute film has been selected as a prime time feature  by Detroit…

Detroit Public Television takes an in-depth look at one teenager’s use of poetry to battle depression. The half-hour episode of Vital Signs features IO’s Dr. Suzanne Scarfone’s working as a mentor to Ranequa Kelley-Boyd. Vital Signs uses first person stories to humanize health struggles in Southeastern Michigan. “Using the arts as a form of therapy…

InsideOut Literary Arts is beyond thrilled to be chosen by  Charter One and WXYZ-TV Channel 7 as the first 2012 Champion in Action® in the category of youth initiatives. InsideOut will receive a $35,000 unrestricted grant, media coverage, and extensive promotional and volunteer support for its outstanding work. “We’re basking in…

InsideOut Literary Arts Project proudly presents Scratch the Page, a one-of-a-kind workshop and reading series for high school poets, ages 13 to 18, daring enough to riff and rhyme alongside a group of highly acclaimed national writers, each selected to teach youth the elements of elevating their skills into art….

What an amazing year of words we’ve created and witnessed together, and just when it seemed things were beginning to return to normal, another burst of unexpected good news has landed in our laps. I’m excited to announce that IO’s founding donor, Hollywood film producer, Bob Shaye, has just pledged…

Thanks to ArtServe Michigan for seeing statewide value in the work of IO and our students. We’re honored to be featured in the latest issue of Creative Impact, Art Serve’s bi-weekly e-magazine, dedicated to advocating the growth of Michigan’s arts practitioners and communities.

Detroit Free Press, Oct. 27, 2011 I was a guest at the White House last May. InsideOut Literary Arts Project, the agency that places writers in Detroit schools, was asked to bring 10 writers to a poetry workshop sponsored by the first lady, Michelle Obama. The agency chose five students…