The Detroit Youth Poetry Slam, hosted by performer and InsideOut coach La Shaun phoenix Moore, will gather 15 talented young artists together from InsideOut’s Citywide Poets after school program. 

Audiences will have a chance to support the teens as they perform their original work and compete for a spot on InsideOut’s 2026 Detroit Youth Performance Troupe. That experience includes intensive coaching and future performance opportunities.

The poetry slam is happening Thursday, May 7 at The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. 

Jassmine Parks is a program coordinator at InsideOut Literary Arts, a 2021 Kresge Artist Fellow and an award winning poet. Justin Rogers manages InsideOut's award-winning after school program Citywide Poets. Justin is also an alum of InsideOut. 

In this conversation, Jassmine and Justin explain the impact poetry has had on their lives and how they are uplifting the next generation.