“I believe creativity requires agency. More than the poetry, editing, and self-awareness skills the Writer-in-Residence Program provides students— I find that the creative independence we afford them to be deeply impactful.” Kweku Abimbola brings his experience as a poet and University of Michigan Civitas Fellow…
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What I found, in teaching this workshop, is that poetry is something that matters, that helps us make sense, that gives us the permission to say what we might not otherwise say. Senior Writer Peter Markus has worked with youth in Metro Detroit classrooms for…
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One of my writers said, ‘This sets my whole week up right.’ That became our mantra, our through line. It was the participants’ commitment to showing up, the generous trust they put in me, and the kindness they showed to one another that laid the…
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Daniella Toosie-Watson Writer-in-Residence InsideOut’s Writer-in-Residence Program gives students a space to be reminded of their power. Daniella is a Writer-in-Residence who brings her background as a poet, visual artist and educator to her work with elementary school students through InsideOut. Beginning as a University of…
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Mahogany Jones Writer-in-Residence Even before COVID-19, the spaces that InsideOut and Citywide Poets carves out of time are magical. With our experiences and creativity we get to shape alternate worlds where we are beautiful and powerful and unashamed and far from average. Recording and performance…
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Catharine Batsios Writer-in-Residence I want every one of my students to have the weekly reminder that their thoughts are rich, robust, & their brains are unique, & always good enough. Catharine, a poet originally from Flint, Michigan, is a Writer-in-Residence and Citywide Poets Site Leader…
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There are a lot of reasons for students to tune out or seem uninspired. The real key is for me, the teaching artist, to be a lighthouse, steady in shining the light for them to come to shore if they can. Rey is a writer…
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Christiana Castillo Writer-in-Residence The poets I work with weekly have been writing poems about community care, self-care, self-love, joy, resilience, and refuge. During the Citywide Poets session, I believe we are using poems to heal and process our current world. Citywide Poets, InsideOut’s award-winning after…
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BookUp is not simply a reading group. BookUp is the emotional process of bridging students to books, to each other, to the world around them and to themselves. Writer-in-Residence Jassmine Parks led middle school students through many stories this year. A graphic memoir about being…
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