InsideOut students have performed on the stages of the Kennedy Center, at TEDxDetroit, and the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam, for private and public audiences in Detroit and far beyond.

View recent performances below and find many more on our Youtube channel.

Citywide Poets

Poetry in Motion

InsideOut Literary Arts sets the stage for a brand new season of Pistons basketball.

Ife Martin

“Represent”

Ife Martin performs an original poem titled “Represent.” Ife wrote this poem for Chalkbeat ahead of the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. She is a high school junior in West Bloomfield, Michigan and a member of the performing arts company Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. She is also a recent winner of the Kids Talk Poetry Slam and a 2021 National YoungArts Winner in Writing: Spoken Word.

Sakila Islam, TEDxDetroit

Apology to My Father

Sakila Islam is a young poet from Detroit who has performed at slams around the country and even at the White House. This moving poem entitled “Apology to My Father” bridges the divide between generations of immigrants. Sakila Islam is a Bangladeshi immigrant, a Citywide Poets alum, a graduate of Detroit International Academy for Young Women, and a current student at University of Michigan. She was a two-time member of the Detroit Youth Poetry Slam Team and still continues to work with InsideOut Literary Arts in a number of special projects.