National Youth Spoken Word Poetry Ambassadors

FAIN: AH-250254-16

Youth Speaks, Inc. (San Francisco, CA 94103-2473)
James Kass (Project Director: January 2016 to February 2020)

Development of regional youth spoken word poetry programming, to include workshops with humanities scholars, mentoring of selected youth poets, and public events integrating spoken word poetry and humanities dialogues.

12CA- The three largest youth spoken word organizations in the country (Youth Speaks and Urban Word as leads, with the support of Young Chicago Authors) join together to create one dynamic initiative that draws from the resources of each organization’s finest programs and networks. This uniting of long-time collaborators will create a unique and powerful experience for young spoken word artists - and their communities - nationwide. The National Youth Spoken Word Ambassadors Program, working in partnership with the Youth Speaks led Brave New Voices Festival and Network, the Urban Word National Youth Poet Laureate Initiative, and in partnership with the Young Chicago Author’s Louder Than a Bomb network accesses as many as 100 programs across the country who are actively engaging with marginalized voices in their community.