Brave New Voices, Indeed

For someone who is all poetry, all the time, I did not give this show the love and attention that it deserved. ::le sigh:: Other than a tiny little blog post ten months ago, I really did not show HBO's Brave New Voices sufficient lovin.

So, here is my sad attempt at redemption. I found the full first episode on YouTube and decided to share it with all of you lovely people. This may, quite possibly, be illegal but...that is how passionate I am about spreading the BNV gospel. These kids are so freaking talented and have the most inspiring stories. If they can go through some of the junk they've seen and still write with such hope and poise, what the hell is our excuse?!?!

Hope this inspires you to stop slacking and write...you know who you are:-)

Enjoy!

ps...check out HBO for more background on the show and such. They're also on Twitter . I'm going to try and find out if there are plans for a second season. I promise I'll watch...or at least DVR...

Great Links: Urban Word NYC

Looking for writing workshops for teens in the NYC area? Check out - www.urbanwordnyc.org. So jealous of the NYC poetry scene. How can we get some of this in the Nati?

Info from their site...sounds like they're about the business. If you've been, let me know. I'm curious to hear what it's like.

Enjoy:-)

Founded on the belief that teenagers can and must speak for themselves, Urban Word NYC™ (UW) has been at the forefront of the youth spoken word, poetry and hip-hop movements in New York City since 1999. Urban Word NYC presents literary arts education and youth development programs in the areas of creative writing, journalism, college prep, literature and hip-hop. UW provides FREE, safe and uncensored writing workshops to teens year round, and hosts the Annual NYC Teen Poetry Slam, NY Knicks Poetry Slam, local and national youth slams, festivals, reading series, open mics, and more. UW works directly with 15,000 teens per year in New York City alone, and as a steering committee member of the National Youth Spoken Word Coalition, has partner programs in 45 cities. UW also has a vigorous community educator and teacher training series which links inquiry-based classroom practices with the most progressive academic trends in student-centered pedagogy.

Urban Word NYC believes that free self-expression —— matured in an enhanced critical literacy environment —— improves selfconfidence and strengthens educational achievement for NYC’s inner city youth. We promote active literacy, critical thought, and positive social dialogue across boundaries of age, race, class, gender, culture, and sexuality. Our many workshops are designed to enhance critical thinking skills, leadership, and to ignite a personal commitment to growth and learning which leads to heightened inschool performance, and greater interest in pursuing higher education.