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DearStudents,Weare looking forward to seeingyouat the2017YouthVoicesConferenceonApril 26th atWayneStateUniversity. We have lined up some fantastic writers to lead workshops for you. To confirm yourparticipationreturnyoursignedpermissionslipandcompletetheconferenceregistrationformonlinebyFriday,April7th.Toregisteronline: www.bit.ly/ioconference

Fillintherequiredinformation(name,email,school,teacher)andselectyourtopchoicesforeachofthethreeworkshops.Usetheattachedworkshopdescriptionstoguideyourchoices.

KEYNOTESPEAKER:TYEHIMBAJESSDetroit-nativeTyehimbaJessistheauthorofLeadbellyandOlio.

Leadbellywasawinnerofthe2004NationalPoetrySeries.TheLibraryJournalandBlackIssuesBookReviewbothnameditoneofthe“BestPoetryBooksof2005.”Olio,publishedin2016,hasbeencalled"Encyclopedic,ingenious,andabundant..."byPublisher'sWeekly'sstarredreview,andwasselectedasoneofthefivebestpoetrybooksof2016.LibraryJournalcallsOlioa"daringcollection,whichblendsforthright,musicallyacutelanguagewithportraiture."

JessisPoetryandFictionEditorofAfricanAmericanReviewandAssociateProfessorofEnglishatCollegeofStatenIsland.

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WorkshopSelectionInstructionsYouwillbeparticipatinginthreesessionsduringtheconference.Readtheworkshopdescriptionsandwriters’biosthatfollowandchooseyourtoptwoforeachofthethreetimeslots.Wewilldoourbesttogetyouintooneofyourfavoritechoicesforeachsession.1stWorkshop9:45-10:40AM(chooseyourtop2)SocialCommentaryforPoets,RhondaWelshDetroit’s1967Uprisingtookplace50yearsagobutitsramificationshavehadfarreachingimpactuponthecity’ssocioeconomic,physicalandspirituallandscape.PoetswillexaminepoetrywritteninresponsetothiscriticalincidentasaspringboardtowritingSocialCommentaryPoemsontheissuesfacingthecityin2017.RhondaWelshisapoet,performerandeducator.Sheisalsoauthorof“RedClayLegacy”and“MusingsofanAdultOnsetSwan.”Youcanvisitheratrhondawelsh.com

WeDon’tBreak,TariqLuthunEnjambment—orlinebreaks/endings—areintegraltothesoundandfeelofapoemthatlivesonthepage,andofteninformshowwebringthosewordstolifevocally.Poetswillexplorehowcertainpoemsworkthankstoenjambment,learnwhytheterm"linebreak"hasfallenoutoffavor,andbegintohonethemusicoftheirpoetrythrougheachlineending.TariqLuthunisandigitalstrategistandEmmyAward-winningpoet.Currently,heisanMFAcandidateattheProgramforWritersatWarrenWilsonCollege,SocialDirectoroftheDetroit-basedOrganicWeaponArtspress,andco-DirectorofthePoC-dedicatedliteraryartsseriesFRUIT.

SoulAlchemy:WhatHaveYouSacrificed?SakilaIslam“Toobtain,somethingofequalvaluemustbelost.Thatisalchemy’sfirstlawofEquivalentExchange.”Whathaveyoulostinordertogettowhereyouaretoday?Inthisworkshop,we’llexplorethesacrificeswe’vemadeandwonderabouthowthingswouldhaveturnedoutifmaybe,justmaybe,we’dmadeadifferentdecision.SakilaIslamwassittinginthesameseatasyouonlyafewyearsago,attendingthisconferenceasastudent.ADPSgraduate,shehasrepresentedDetroittwiceinnationalpoetryslamsandrecentlyperformedattheWhiteHouse.She’scurrentlyasophomorestudyingInternationalStudiesandJapaneseatUofM.

CartoonsAreGREAT,SiaaraFreemanHerewewilltakeyourfavoritecartoon&placetheminasituationyouyourselfhavebeenin,whatwouldtheyhavedonedifferently?Justlikeyou?Let’sfindout!siaarafreemanisthefounderofwusgood.black,acclaimedtravellingperformer,widelypublished,apushcartnominee,abestofthenetnominee,abestnewpoetnominee.butwhat’sreallycoolisthatsheisoneofthecoachesforthe2017BraveNewVoicesslamteam,andthatsheisaslytherin.

DefineYourself,DeonteOsayandeUsingRudyFrancisco's“Definitions”andDeonteOsayande's“Masks”studentswillcomeupwiththeirowndefinitionsforwordsthatareimportanttothem.Theywillthenexplorethedepthsanddescriptionsthatmeanthemosttothemandwillconstructapersonalpoemreflectingthisdefinition.DeonteOsayandeisaformertrackandfieldsprinterturnedwriter.HehasrepresentedDetroitatmultipleNationalPoetrySlamcompetitions.He'scurrentlyaprofessorofEnglishatWayneCountyCommunityCollege.Hisfirstfullcollectionofpoems,Class,isnowoutwithUrbanFarmhousePress.

LinedwithLoss:ToolsforWritingTrauma,Grief,andLoss,CorinaFadelInthisworkshopwewilllearnsimplepracticesthathelptogroundandcenterwritersandperformersastheydigdeepandwritethehard:trauma,griefandloss.Whenwearewritingandperformingpiecesthatmattertous,whosedetailsweknow,wherewefeelthepainandweightinourownbodies,wealsomustlearntocenterourselves,andgroundourselvestolessenthere-traumatizationthatcanhappenasweshareandwriteourwounds.Thisworkshopwillbemorecenteredontoolstobetterequipustowritethanitwillbeaboutsharingourstoriesorworkshoppingourwriting.CorinaM.Fadelisapoet,waitressandmassagetherapistwhowrites.

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2ndWorkshop10:45-11:40AM(chooseyourtop2)BreaktheMetaphor,MeganStockton“Metaphorsteachthemind/toenjoyerror/andtolearn/fromthejuxtapositionofwhatisandwhatisnotthecase.”–AnneCarsonWhatisandwhatisnotthecaseoftenshowsthedisparitybetweentwothingsasmuchasitshowsthesimilarity.Thisworkshopstartsfromthepremisethatbycomparingwhatistowhatisnot,orwhohasandwhodoesnothave,metaphorhasthepowertoturnhowwethinkabouttheworldupsidedown.Studentswillthinkaboutmetaphorasawaytotransformordinaryobjects,identitiesandinfrastructureoftheworldby“breakingthemetaphor”:investigatingwhatcanbegeneratedandrevealedthroughunexpectedjuxtaposition.MeganStocktonisawriterisapoet,publisher,andeducator.SheistheeditorofWeekdayMagazineandBathHouseJournal.SheiscurrentlystudyingcreativewritingatEasternMichiganUniversity.

TheProsePoem/FlashNonfiction,JohnFreemanThisworkshopwillexploretwooverlappingshortproseformsfortheirnarrativeandimagisticpossibilities.Bytheendofthesessionstudentswillhavereadacoupleshortprosepiecesbycontemporarywritersandwrittenaprosepoemoftheirown.JohnFreemanpublishespoetryunderthename“CalFreeman.”HeteachesatOaklandUniversity.

Sorry,NotSorry,ChristinaPerezPoetrycanbeusedtoworkthroughuncomfortableemotions.Inthisworkshopstudentswillhaveanopportunitytoexplorethetopicofregret,withatwist."Sorry,notsorry"hasbecomeafalseapologybecausethisapologycanbeissuedforhavingtomakeaspecificchoice,whilestilljustifyingthatchoice.WewilllookatWilliamCarlosWilliamspoem"ThisisjusttoSay"andalsohear21stcenturypoetictakeon"Sorry,notSorry."Studentswillthenwriteandsharea"Sorry,NotSorry"poemoftheirown.ChristinaPerez-Elisapoetandmulti-mediaproducerfromDetroit.SheistheauthorofBlueLadyFireTide&Manifestandlovesputtingpoetrytohip-hopandvariousothergenresofmusic.

BoutThatLife,SacramentoKnoxxStudentswillcreateandcommunicateavisionfortheirlivesusingmusic,cypher,andculturalexchange.SacramentoKnoxxbelieves“MusicIsMedicine"&willleadyouthroughaninnovativeprocessforgivingvoicetocreativeexpressionsofidentity,love,&healing.SacramentoKnoxx-Withafoundationinjazz,swing,funk,blues,andindigenousmusic,SacramentoKnoxx,hasbroughtahybridblendofperformance&engagementwithinthedigitalmedia&hiphoparts.Touringaroundtheworld,Knoxx’screationsinspire,educate,heal,motivate,engage&reachyouth&eldersalike.

EmceeWorkshop,MahoganyJonesLearnthepowerofrhymescheme/meterandrhythmfromoneofDetroit’sleadingEmcees.MahoganyJonesisalyricalforcehailedinternationallyforherworkasarecordingandperformanceartist,artsadvocate,communityactivistandeducator.Mahogany'slatestreleaseis"SugarWater."

IHaveSoMuchIWanttoSay,PeterMarkusWriterslovewords,right?Well,notalways.Sometimesthewordsdon'tgetitright.Wehavesomuchthatwewanttosayandyet,whenwepickupthepenciltowriteitdown,thewordsfallshort.Inthisworkshopwewillbondoverallthefailedpoemsthatnevermadeitoutintotheworldandthentrytobuildourownpoemthatisbornoutofthetensionbetweenwhatwewanttosayandthewordsthatsometimesgetintheway.PeterMarkusistheauthorofthenovelBob,orManonBoataswellasfiveotherbooksofshortfiction.Hehasbeenawriter-in-residencewithInsideOutsinceitsinceptionin1995.Anewbook,InsideMyPencil:OpeningtheDoorsofPerceptionandPoetryinDetroitPublicSchoolStudentsisforthcomingin2017fromDzancBooks.

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3rdWorkshop12:35-1:25PM(chooseyourtop2)MeetLocalWritingRoyaltyMeettouringspoken-wordartists,journalists,professionalsinthemusicindustry,YAauthors,andpublisherswhohaveturnedthecraftofwritingintoasuccessfulcareer.Hearaboutwhatittakestohoneyourcraftandlaunchyourwritinglife.You’llhaveanopportunitytoaskquestions.

TheMetaphorMachine,YaKuZaMoonInthisworkshopwriterswillexploreinnervoicewhileusingextendedmetaphortoillustrateabstractideasThispromptwilldestroytheillusionof"writer'sblock"byshowingthatanythingcanbewrittenfromanunlikelyandevenunrelatedcomparison.YaKuZamoonisapublishedwriter,musician,andthefirsteveryouthwinneroftheRustbeltPoetrySlam.HeistheYouthArtsDirectorforindependentmediaoutletKnowAllegianceNation.Heispublishedin3InsideOutanthologiesandayouthfellowofthePoetrySocietyofMichigan.

PerformanceCoachingStudentswillbringapoemtheywroteinanearlierconferenceworkshoporonewrittenpreviouslytopracticereadingaloudwithcoachingfromInsideOutslamteamstaff.Theywillfocusonelementssuchasvoice,rhythm,andmovement.

EkphrasticPoetry:WritingintoDetroitStreetArtandMurals,HannahWebsterGreatpoetrycanexpandandshiftthewaywethinkabouttheotherkindsofartaroundus.InthisworkshopwewilllookatsomeofthemuralsandstreetartfromDetroit’shistory—fromDiegoRiveratocontemporaryartistslikeHow&Nosm,CharlesMcGee,BeauStanton,MichelleTanguay,HebruBrantleyandothers.Theseartistshavelefttheirmarkonthecity:howwillyourespond?HannahWebsterisapoet,artist,andactivistfinishingupherMaster’sofFineArtsincreativewritingattheUofM.ShejoinedInsideOutin2014andcurrentlyservesastheassistanteditorfortheMichiganReviewofPrisonerCreativeWriting.

Odetothe(Extra)Ordinary,AnnaWestAnodeisapoemwrittenincelebrationofsomeoneorsomething.Whiletraditionallytheodewassavedforformaloccasionsandimportantsubjects,ChileanpoetPabloNerudadecidedtowriteodestoordinaryobjectsinhiseverydaylife--lemons,tomatoes,salt,evenhissocks.Intheseodes,however,healwaysseemstofindtheextraordinaryintheordinary,transformingsocksinblackbirdsandcannons,saltintolight,tomatoesintostars.Inthisworkshop,wewillwriteourownodes,followingtheleapsofimaginationandinNeruda'sfootsteps.AnnaWestisawriterandscholarwhowasbornandraisedinmetroDetroit.SheholdsaPhDfromtheUniversityofStAndrews,UK.Herfirstbook,aliterarymonographentitledThomasHardyandAnimals,isforthcomingwithCambridgeUniversityPress.

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2017YouthVoicesConferencePERMISSIONSLIP

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IherebygrantconsentformychildtoparticipateintheYouthVoicesConferenceatWayneStateUniversityonApril26,2017.IconsenttothereproductionandpublicationofphotographsandwritingofmychildbyanInsideOutstaffpersonorcontractorduringtheconference&formychildtoparticipateinevaluationoftheconference.Iunderstandthatmychildwillbeacknowledgedforhis/herwork.Iamtheparentand/orlegalguardianoftheabovestudentandherebyendorsethisagreementonhis/herbehalf.

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