Poetry Festival to Benefit Art from Ashes

LITTLETON – A slam poetry coach, a poetry rock ‘n’ roll band and poetry readings by at-risk youth will highlight a wide variety of poetic events in the Half Moon at Arapahoe Community College on Friday, Oct. 17, starting at 5 p.m. The event will benefit Art from Ashes, a non-profit organization that uses creative therapies to help homeless youth.

The event will include workshops on performance poetry and poetry therapy, performance poetry by a slam team member and coach, a poetry rock ‘n’ roll band called “Coyote Poets of the Universe,” audience interactive poetry exercises with an open microphone, readings by at-risk youth and a benefit food and bake sale by Columbine High School’s Unity in Action Club.

Two different workshops will run from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Longtime performer and award-winning slam coach Bianca Mikahn will focus on writing and performing performance poetry. Mikahn has performed throughout the country as a slam team member, has been featured at word celebrations such as the Talking Gourds Poetry Festival and has been published in “Soul Lovely Quarterly” and other chapbooks.

A poetry therapy workshop will be presented by the executive director of Art from Ashes, Catherine ONeill Thorn. The workshops and program will cost $15 for the community and $10 for ACC students. The performance only will cost $5 for all. Advanced Registration by Oct. 15 is required for the workshops only to writerstudio@araphoe.edu.

The Art from Ashes workshops blend positive youth development and research-based prevention strategies by using the latest research in left-brain and right-brain functioning and the role of creativity in emotional healing. National research shows that youth who are regularly engaged in the arts improve their academic standing, increase their abilities in self-assessment and motivation and raise their awareness of the importance of working for a positive future for themselves and for their communities.

This year alone, Art from Ashes has been granted awards by Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Mayor’s Office for Education and Children, the Scripps-Howard Foundation, Colorado Council on the Arts, the Colorado Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Westword Mastermind Award for Literary Arts.

“Poetry and other creative arts therapies have been shown effective in changing negative and destructive behaviors by offering a means of catharsis, a way to connect with others and a healing process that establishes and reaffirms a healthier self-concept,” Thorn said. “The benefits include reduced violence and crime, suicide prevention and a reduction in high-risk sexual behaviors.”

Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Columbine High School’s Unity in Action Club will offer a food and bake sale to help raise funds for Art from Ashes, and from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Bianca the Performance Poet will perform, Art from Ashes at-risk youth will share their poetry and Thorn will engage the audience in a series of interactive poetry exercises that the audience will be invited to read.

Also performing at this time will be the Coyote Poets of the Universe. The Coyote Poets weave spoken word with original jazz and rock compositions, and the group has released four CDs. This art form is a unique concert experience featuring outstanding musicianship and award winning poets. Instrumentation includes: electric and acoustic guitars, violins, electric fretless bass, flutes, oboe, clarinet, English horn, banjo, keyboards, congas and other percussion toys. Multiple male and female vocalists create a lush and diverse sound.

For more information about the event, call the Writers Studio at 303.797.5815 or send an e-mail message to writerstudio@araphoe.edu.

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