Hey, readers! Welcome back to Culture Canvas.
I know it’s only Tuesday, but if you’re looking for something to keep your teens, nieces, nephews or cousins occupied this weekend, here’s an event that might interest them.
Youth organization InsideOut Literary Arts is hosting its second annual Detroit Youth Poetry Con from 9:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Wayne State University Student Center. Admission is free and open for teens ages 13-19. The event will feature workshops where teen poets will get the chance to meet and learn from writers including best-selling poet and essayist Ross Gay and Michigan Poet Laureate Nandi Comer.
The day will close with a showcase at the university’s Hilberry Gateway featuring readings from Gay, Comer and InsideOut youth.
I talked to InsideOut’s Citywide Poets Manager Justin Rogers, who is managing the con. The event stemmed from a question a student asked about having a gathering again since the organization’s programming had largely scaled back due to the pandemic, he said.
Teens will get a chance to express their creativity and share work with their peers in rounds of creative-based and career-based workshops.
“The creative workshops are going to ask students to generate new poetry, work on songwriting,” Rogers said. “We also have a monologues workshop, so we’re really allowing students to generate new writing. The career round of workshops will focus on bringing in artists that are deep in their field and talk to students about how those students can get involved in these different career fields that are based in art.”
Rogers said he hopes youth will feel inspired and have a chance to connect with their community.
“I want students to walk away feeling like they came together to do something that they wouldn’t have been able to come together to do otherwise,” he said.
People can register for Poetry Con on InsideOut’s website until tomorrow. Meanwhile, the showcase with Gay and Comer is open to the public and tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite.
You can read the full story on BridgeDetroit.com later today. Hope you all have a great week!
Cheers,
Micah
313 Scene
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- Emmanuel Smith and his 10-year-old son, Eleazar-Yisrael Smith, are making history as the first father-son duo featured in two separate but adjacent exhibits at the Detroit Historical Museum.
What’s Going on in the D?
- Playwright and “The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin is bringing his take on the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the stage at Fisher Theatre beginning Tuesday. Tickets start at $49.
- Fantazma Market and Cafe, located inside the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation in Corktown, is hosting Detroit Day of Fashion 6-11 p.m. Friday. The event showcases designers and models in metro Detroit. Tickets are free for general admission and $20 for VIP front-row seats.
- To celebrate the closing of its Clockwork installation and performance series, Irwin House Gallery is hosting a free performance by harpist and multidisciplinary artist Ackeem Salmon 7 p.m. Saturday.
