Ross Gay is one of Nandi Comer’s closest friends and mentors.
The writers met more than 15 years ago when Comer was running the Citywide Poets program for the youth organization InsideOut Literary Arts. Later that year, Comer and Gay were fellows for a poetry retreat. They’ve been friends ever since.
The long-time friends are joining forces yet again Saturday as visiting writers for InsideOut’s second annual Detroit Youth Poetry Con.
The event at the Wayne State University Student Center will feature workshops for teens ages 13-19 on topics such as navigating creative writing across genres and career paths within the arts. After the workshop, the poetry con will move to the college’s Hilberry Gateway for a showcase featuring work from InsideOut’s youth poets and a discussion from Gay, a best-selling poet, essayist and author and Comer, the Michigan Poet Laureate.
“We’ve had different dynamics where he (Gay) worked for me, I’ve worked for him as a teaching assistant,” Comer told BridgeDetroit. “We’ve been peers at festivals before, so we just have a well-rounded relationship. I often call him and seek advice, but we also do a lot of talking about poems and things together.”
Registration for the poetry con has closed but the showcase is open to the public, with tickets available on Eventbrite. General admission tickets are $25, while “superfan” tickets are priced at $60. This includes a signed copy of Gay’s “The Book of (More) Delights,” along with reserved orchestra seating.
The conversation between Comer and Gay will be mostly organic and free flowing, but she said it will touch on their lives as writers and how they maintain that within a busy world.
“It’s gonna be a really great time,” Comer said. “And we’re gonna really have to fight ourselves to not just have these inside, jokey conversations because we really do love just being in conversation with each other even when there isn’t an audience … It’ll be wonderful to sit and discuss where we are in our writing right now.”
‘Creating a sense of belonging’
Justin Rogers, InsideOut’s Citywide Poets Coordinator, said the poetry con is based on a similar event the organization held before the pandemic.
Executive Director Suma Rosen added that InsideOut had to stop a majority of its programming during the height of the pandemic and wanted to come back and offer an experience where teens could come together, learn about writing and get exposure to writers.
“One of my favorite things is to see people who have just met that day sharing their poetry with each other and building new connections and leaving with friends,” she said. “And creating that sense of belonging for young people, especially after all the isolation of the virtual years with COVID.”
For the workshops, teens will engage in creative and career-based sessions, like poetry, songwriting and monologue writing, Rogers said. Comer and Gay will also be involved in some of the workshops.
“The career round of workshops will focus on bringing in artists that are deep in their field and talk to the students about how those students can get involved in these different career fields that are based in art,” Rogers said.
The event will also have youth vendors, open mics sessions, a relaxation room and a best outfit award complete with a gift from Gucci Changemakers.
Rogers said poetry is an accessible form of self expression and a vehicle for understanding yourself and the world around you.
“Being able to take creative approaches to the things that you are experiencing is very important,” he said. “It’s something that students don’t get a chance to do during the school day nearly as often as they need a chance to. Poetry allows a space to engage in a creative thought process that students wouldn’t be able to access otherwise.”
Comer said the teens registered for poetry con are committed to their craft and she hopes that they find new and imaginative ways to tap into their writing.
“I don’t think that they aren’t already equipped with the skills they need to be incredible writers because they’re already doing that,” she said. “I’m excited that they will have the opportunity to get a new vantage point of something that they already love.”