Poets are the means by which a place c omes to know itself. \; -- Maj Ragain
\nJoin us at these fr ee monthly writing workshops where elders (55 and above) can share Clevela nd stories and\, with the help of youth poets\, turn them into poems to be included in the &ldquo\;Poem for Cleveland&rdquo\; anthology. Each hour-l ong session will include poetry prompts about Cleveland\, including favori te places\, people\, family memories\, and growing up a Clevelander.
\nFunded by an American Academy of Poetry grant\, these workshops will br ing together youth poets and elders to create a poetic mosaic celebrating our city. The year-long project will culminate in an anthology of poems an d a celebratory reading of youth and elder poets next July at the Clevelan d Public Library. \;
\nThese workshops will be led by Ra
y McNiece\, Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate and Cleveland Arts Pr
ize Lifetime Achievement Award winner\, and Raja Belle Freeman youth poetry instructor from Lake Erie Ink. They will also include t
wo poets from the Poem for Cleveland Project youth poetry cohort. \;\n These workshops are made possible by the Academy of American Poets
with funds from the Mellon Foundation.