Project Your Voice!
Story written and contributed by Taylor Allie
Because poetry is my favorite form of self-expression, when I’m bored or not feeling like doing much of anything, I tend to read and watch it. I love indulging in new poetry and finding new authors. So, I once was browsing through the amazing TEDtalk site and I discovered a poet by the name of Sarah Kay. She is an American Poet who just so happens to be the co-founder of Project V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal Outreach Into Creative Expression) along with Phil Kaye. So of course, taking such a divine interest in Sarah, I decided to look deeper into the project that she took part in creating.
After visiting the site (http://www.project-voice.net/) I couldn’t help but be completely inspired. Their mission, provided on the project’s website, states “Project V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal Outreach Into Creative Expression) is a national movement that celebrates and inspires youth self-expression through Spoken Word Poetry. Conceived in 2004, Project V.O.I.C.E. encourages young people to engage with the world around them and use Spoken Word Poetry as an instrument through which they can explore and better understand their culture, their society, and ultimately themselves. Project V.O.I.C.E. brings together performance, writing, and a supportive environment to inspire youth to recognize that their views are significant, valid, and necessary.”
In the world that we live in today, our youth is of incredible importance. The only problem is, most of them don’t know it and projects such as this one create the path that allows them that realization. The members of Project V.O.I.C.E. fulfill their mission by doing a wide range of things. All throughout the United States, they perform spoken word poetry about a plethora of topics from comedy to politics and they also conduct workshops that teach the basics of writing and performing. From this type of exposure, not only does youth get to learn about poetry, they get to learn about life in a way that they may not have ever even considered.
The site contains videos, pictures, upcoming events, articles and interviews about Project V.O.I.C.E. as well as much more information. With buzz from so many different publications like CNN, ABC, and The Washington Post to name a few, I figured it would be an incredible addition The Evlove. Any readers of The Evlove that enjoy poetry or know someone who does should definitely look into this project and spread the word. Encourage voice, because in some instances, it is all we have.
Story written and contributed by Taylor Allie
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