“Get Lit – Words Ignite inspires literacy, wellness, creativity, and workforce development for young people through Spoken Word poetry and media. Through in- and after-school programs centered on classic and contemporary poetry and multi-media expression, Get Lit advances education, promotes literacy, and offers opportunities for under-resourced young people to create community and raise up their authentic voices.
Our programs span the classroom to career including training in high-demand fields leading to life-changing creative opportunities, internships, scholarships, and jobs. Our programs include In-School Program: Our robust curricula for the classroom engage students in the deep study and performance of classic/contemporary poems combined with creation and performance of original response poems. The program includes UNI(VERSE), our pioneering interactive literacy and poetry platform for the classroom; After-School: Free weekly poetry and performance workshops, open mics; Classic Slam: One of the largest teen poetry competitions in the U.S.; Get Lit Players: Award-winning teen performance troupe; and our Creative Suite: the Film Lab, a semester-long program for high-schoolers with weekly workshops; Creative Camp, summer workshops in screenwriting, filmmaking, music production, and performance; and, in order to form a bridge from school to career success for young adults, we developed our Creative Career Lab, our next step in support of our students (described above).
Get Lit serves youth ages 9-28 in diverse communities primarily in southern California. Of the 8,000 teens who graduate from our curriculum annually, and the 50,000 youth we reach through all programs, services, and performances, 85% are from under-resourced areas and enrolled in Title I schools, and 92% are students of color. Many of our youth have multiple serious challenges in their lives such as abuse, poverty, drugs, prior incarceration, threat of deportation, violence in their neighborhoods, homelessness, and issues of sexuality or identity.”
Learn more: Get Lit
