invitesyoutoattend
PresentedBy
DearStudents,
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2017 Youth Voices Conference on April 26th at Wayne State
University. We have lined up some fantastic writers to lead workshops for you. To confirm your
participationreturnyoursignedpermissionslipandcompletetheconferenceregistrationformonlineby
Friday,April7th.
Toregisteronline:
www.bit.ly/ioconference
Fillintherequiredinformation(name,email,school,teacher)andselectyourtop
choicesforeachofthethreeworkshops.Usetheattachedworkshopdescriptionsto
guideyourchoices.
KEYNOTESPEAKER:TYEHIMBAJESS
Detroit-nativeTyehimbaJessistheauthor
ofLeadbellyandOlio.
Leadbellywasawinnerofthe2004NationalPoetrySeries.
TheLibraryJournalandBlackIssuesBookReviewbothnamed
itoneofthe“BestPoetryBooksof2005.”Olio,publishedin
2016,hasbeencalled"Encyclopedic,ingenious,and
abundant..."byPublisher'sWeekly'sstarredreview,andwas
selectedasoneofthefivebestpoetrybooksof2016.Library
JournalcallsOlioa"daringcollection,whichblendsforthright,
musicallyacutelanguagewithportraiture."
JessisPoetryandFictionEditorofAfricanAmerican
ReviewandAssociateProfessorofEnglishatCollegeofStaten
Island.
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WorkshopSelectionInstructions
Youwillbeparticipatinginthreesessionsduringtheconference.Readtheworkshopdescriptionsandwriters’
biosthatfollowandchooseyourtoptwoforeachofthethreetimeslots.Wewilldoourbesttogetyouinto
oneofyourfavoritechoicesforeachsession.
1stWorkshop9:45-10:40AM(chooseyourtop2)
SocialCommentaryforPoets,RhondaWelsh
Detroit’s1967Uprisingtookplace50yearsagobutitsramificationshavehadfarreachingimpactuponthecity’s
socioeconomic,physicalandspirituallandscape.Poetswillexaminepoetrywritteninresponsetothiscriticalincidentasa
springboardtowritingSocialCommentaryPoemsontheissuesfacingthecityin2017.
RhondaWelshisapoet,performerandeducator.Sheisalsoauthorof“RedClayLegacy”and“MusingsofanAdultOnset
Swan.”Youcanvisitheratrhondawelsh.com
WeDon’tBreak,TariqLuthun
Enjambment—orlinebreaks/endings
—areintegraltothesoundandfeelofapoemthatlivesonthepage,andofteninformshowwebringthosewordstolife
vocally.Poetswillexplorehowcertainpoemsworkthankstoenjambment,learnwhytheterm"linebreak"hasfallenoutof
favor,andbegintohonethemusicoftheirpoetrythrougheachlineending.
TariqLuthunisandigitalstrategistandEmmyAward-winningpoet.Currently,heisanMFAcandidateattheProgramfor
WritersatWarrenWilsonCollege,SocialDirectoroftheDetroit-basedOrganicWeaponArtspress,andco-Directorofthe
PoC-dedicatedliteraryartsseriesFRUIT.
SoulAlchemy:WhatHaveYouSacrificed?SakilaIslam
“Toobtain,somethingofequalvaluemustbelost.Thatisalchemy’sfirstlawofEquivalentExchange.”Whathaveyoulost
inordertogettowhereyouaretoday?Inthisworkshop,we’llexplorethesacrificeswe’vemadeandwonderabouthow
thingswouldhaveturnedoutifmaybe,justmaybe,we’dmadeadifferentdecision.
SakilaIslamwassittinginthesameseatasyouonlyafewyearsago,attendingthisconferenceasastudent.ADPS
graduate,shehasrepresentedDetroittwiceinnationalpoetryslamsandrecentlyperformedattheWhiteHouse.She’s
currentlyasophomorestudyingInternationalStudiesandJapaneseatUofM.
CartoonsAreGREAT,SiaaraFreeman
Herewewilltakeyourfavoritecartoon&placetheminasituationyouyourselfhavebeenin,whatwouldtheyhavedone
differently?Justlikeyou?Let’sfindout!
siaarafreemanisthefounderofwusgood.black,acclaimedtravellingperformer,widelypublished,apushcartnominee,a
bestofthenetnominee,abestnewpoetnominee.butwhat’sreallycoolisthatsheisoneofthecoachesforthe2017
BraveNewVoicesslamteam,andthatsheisaslytherin.
DefineYourself,DeonteOsayande
UsingRudyFrancisco's“Definitions”andDeonteOsayande's“Masks”studentswillcomeupwiththeirowndefinitionsfor
wordsthatareimportanttothem.Theywillthenexplorethedepthsanddescriptionsthatmeanthemosttothemandwill
constructapersonalpoemreflectingthisdefinition.
DeonteOsayandeisaformertrackandfieldsprinterturnedwriter.HehasrepresentedDetroitatmultipleNationalPoetry
Slamcompetitions.He'scurrentlyaprofessorofEnglishatWayneCountyCommunityCollege.Hisfirstfullcollectionof
poems,Class,isnowoutwithUrbanFarmhousePress.
LinedwithLoss:ToolsforWritingTrauma,Grief,andLoss,CorinaFadel
Inthisworkshopwewilllearnsimplepracticesthathelptogroundandcenterwritersandperformersastheydigdeepand
writethehard:trauma,griefandloss.Whenwearewritingandperformingpiecesthatmattertous,whosedetailswe
know,wherewefeelthepainandweightinourownbodies,wealsomustlearntocenterourselves,andgroundourselves
tolessenthere-traumatizationthatcanhappenasweshareandwriteourwounds.Thisworkshopwillbemorecentered
ontoolstobetterequipustowritethanitwillbeaboutsharingourstoriesorworkshoppingourwriting.
CorinaM.Fadelisapoet,waitressandmassagetherapistwhowrites.
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2ndWorkshop10:45-11:40AM(chooseyourtop2)
BreaktheMetaphor,MeganStockton
“Metaphorsteachthemind/toenjoyerror/andtolearn/fromthejuxtapositionofwhatisandwhatisnotthecase.”–
AnneCarson
Whatisandwhatisnotthecaseoftenshowsthedisparitybetweentwothingsasmuchasitshowsthesimilarity.This
workshopstartsfromthepremisethatbycomparingwhatistowhatisnot,orwhohasandwhodoesnothave,metaphor
hasthepowertoturnhowwethinkabouttheworldupsidedown.Studentswillthinkaboutmetaphorasawayto
transformordinaryobjects,identitiesandinfrastructureoftheworldby“breakingthemetaphor”:investigatingwhatcan
begeneratedandrevealedthroughunexpectedjuxtaposition.
MeganStocktonisawriterisapoet,publisher,andeducator.SheistheeditorofWeekdayMagazineandBathHouse
Journal.SheiscurrentlystudyingcreativewritingatEasternMichiganUniversity.
TheProsePoem/FlashNonfiction,JohnFreeman
Thisworkshopwillexploretwooverlappingshortproseformsfortheirnarrativeandimagisticpossibilities.Bytheendof
thesessionstudentswillhavereadacoupleshortprosepiecesbycontemporarywritersandwrittenaprosepoemoftheir
own.
JohnFreemanpublishespoetryunderthename“CalFreeman.”HeteachesatOaklandUniversity.
Sorry,NotSorry,ChristinaPerez
Poetrycanbeusedtoworkthroughuncomfortableemotions.Inthisworkshopstudentswillhaveanopportunityto
explorethetopicofregret,withatwist."Sorry,notsorry"hasbecomeafalseapologybecausethisapologycanbeissued
forhavingtomakeaspecificchoice,whilestilljustifyingthatchoice.WewilllookatWilliamCarlosWilliamspoem"Thisis
justtoSay"andalsohear21stcenturypoetictakeon"Sorry,notSorry."Studentswillthenwriteandsharea"Sorry,Not
Sorry"poemoftheirown.
ChristinaPerez-Elisapoetandmulti-mediaproducerfromDetroit.SheistheauthorofBlueLadyFireTide&Manifestand
lovesputtingpoetrytohip-hopandvariousothergenresofmusic.
BoutThatLife,SacramentoKnoxx
Studentswillcreateandcommunicateavisionfortheirlivesusingmusic,cypher,andculturalexchange.SacramentoKnoxx
believes“MusicIsMedicine"&willleadyouthroughaninnovativeprocessforgivingvoicetocreativeexpressionsof
identity,love,&healing.
SacramentoKnoxx-Withafoundationinjazz,swing,funk,blues,andindigenousmusic,SacramentoKnoxx,hasbroughta
hybridblendofperformance&engagementwithinthedigitalmedia&hiphoparts.Touringaroundtheworld,Knoxx’s
creationsinspire,educate,heal,motivate,engage&reachyouth&eldersalike.
EmceeWorkshop,MahoganyJones
Learnthepowerofrhymescheme/meterandrhythmfromoneofDetroit’sleadingEmcees.
MahoganyJonesisalyricalforcehailedinternationallyforherworkasarecordingandperformanceartist,artsadvocate,
communityactivistandeducator.Mahogany'slatestreleaseis"SugarWater."
IHaveSoMuchIWanttoSay,PeterMarkus
Writerslovewords,right?Well,notalways.Sometimesthewordsdon'tgetitright.Wehavesomuchthatwewanttosay
andyet,whenwepickupthepenciltowriteitdown,thewordsfallshort.Inthisworkshopwewillbondoverallthefailed
poemsthatnevermadeitoutintotheworldandthentrytobuildourownpoemthatisbornoutofthetensionbetween
whatwewanttosayandthewordsthatsometimesgetintheway.
PeterMarkusistheauthorofthenovelBob,orManonBoataswellasfiveotherbooksofshortfiction.Hehasbeena
writer-in-residencewithInsideOutsinceitsinceptionin1995.Anewbook,InsideMyPencil:OpeningtheDoorsof
PerceptionandPoetryinDetroitPublicSchoolStudentsisforthcomingin2017fromDzancBooks.
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3rdWorkshop12:35-1:25PM(chooseyourtop2)
MeetLocalWritingRoyalty
Meettouringspoken-wordartists,journalists,professionalsinthemusicindustry,YAauthors,andpublisherswhohave
turnedthecraftofwritingintoasuccessfulcareer.Hearaboutwhatittakestohoneyourcraftandlaunchyourwritinglife.
You’llhaveanopportunitytoaskquestions.
TheMetaphorMachine,YaKuZaMoon
Inthisworkshopwriterswillexploreinnervoicewhileusingextendedmetaphortoillustrateabstractideas
Thispromptwilldestroytheillusionof"writer'sblock"byshowingthatanythingcanbewrittenfromanunlikely
andevenunrelatedcomparison.
YaKuZamoonisapublishedwriter,musician,andthefirsteveryouthwinneroftheRustbeltPoetrySlam.HeistheYouth
ArtsDirectorforindependentmediaoutletKnowAllegianceNation.Heispublishedin3InsideOutanthologiesandayouth
fellowofthePoetrySocietyofMichigan.
PerformanceCoaching
Studentswillbringapoemtheywroteinanearlierconferenceworkshoporonewrittenpreviouslytopracticereading
aloudwithcoachingfromInsideOutslamteamstaff.Theywillfocusonelementssuchasvoice,rhythm,andmovement.
EkphrasticPoetry:WritingintoDetroitStreetArtandMurals,HannahWebster
Greatpoetrycanexpandandshiftthewaywethinkabouttheotherkindsofartaroundus.Inthisworkshopwewilllookat
someofthemuralsandstreetartfromDetroit’shistory—fromDiegoRiveratocontemporaryartistslikeHow&Nosm,
CharlesMcGee,BeauStanton,MichelleTanguay,HebruBrantleyandothers.Theseartistshavelefttheirmarkonthecity:
howwillyourespond?
HannahWebsterisapoet,artist,andactivistfinishingupherMaster’sofFineArtsincreativewritingattheUofM.She
joinedInsideOutin2014andcurrentlyservesastheassistanteditorfortheMichiganReviewofPrisonerCreativeWriting.
Odetothe(Extra)Ordinary,AnnaWest
Anodeisapoemwrittenincelebrationofsomeoneorsomething.Whiletraditionallytheodewassavedforformal
occasionsandimportantsubjects,ChileanpoetPabloNerudadecidedtowriteodestoordinaryobjectsinhiseverydaylife-lemons,tomatoes,salt,evenhissocks.Intheseodes,however,healwaysseemstofindtheextraordinaryintheordinary,
transformingsocksinblackbirdsandcannons,saltintolight,tomatoesintostars.Inthisworkshop,wewillwriteourown
odes,followingtheleapsofimaginationandinNeruda'sfootsteps.
AnnaWestisawriterandscholarwhowasbornandraisedinmetroDetroit.SheholdsaPhDfromtheUniversityofSt
Andrews,UK.Herfirstbook,aliterarymonographentitledThomasHardyandAnimals,isforthcomingwithCambridge
UniversityPress.
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2017YouthVoicesConferencePERMISSIONSLIP
StudentName(print) StudentSignature
School Date
PARENT/GUARDIAN
IherebygrantconsentformychildtoparticipateintheYouthVoicesConferenceatWayneStateUniversity
onApril26,2017.Iconsenttothereproductionandpublicationofphotographsandwritingofmychildby
anInsideOutstaffpersonorcontractorduringtheconference&formychildtoparticipateinevaluationof
theconference.Iunderstandthatmychildwillbeacknowledgedforhis/herwork.Iamtheparentand/or
legalguardianoftheabovestudentandherebyendorsethisagreementonhis/herbehalf.
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