Ignite - Proactive Poetry

Ignite - Proactive Poetry (IPP) -- a cooperative project of Get Lit and Magic Poetry Bus -- is an afterschool literacy and spoken word project that increases teen literacy by combining “spoken word” or “hip hop” influenced poetry with traditional, canonical works, requiring the students to memorize both and then engage “in a dialogue” with the writers by writing a response in the same style as the pieces they have chosen. Their responses are memorized and performed in concert with the original poem, creating a one of a kind work – which allows both participant and audience to further understand the meaning of the canonical work by its relation to the poem created by the teen. Some of the United States’ best living Poets including Bob Holman, Joy Harjo, Robert Pinsky, and Rita Dove, have given their permission to include their selected poems and writing exercises in a workbook/curriculum/collection of performance poems we will use in the classroom and provide on-line.

In addition, students are taught poems in 12 week cycles, under “themes” like “Harlem Renaissance”; “War Poems”; “Birth-Death”; “Darkness-Light”, so that at the end of a 12-week block of instruction, they have an increased understanding of poetry and a particular time in history and/or emotional theme as well.

IPP is taught by trained Teaching Artists and takes place on the school campus, once a week for 36 weeks.  The methods employed by IPP enable the students to: write in different poetic forms; learn performance skills and the art of communicating thought; increase their vocabulary; and become familiar with the great poets, internalizing their words which leads to an expanded level of thought, maturity, reflection and perception.  This gives students a love of language, ie: love of learning so they can become engaged and competent in academic work, and have a much needed vehicle of expression - becoming leaders in their communities and productive members of society. 

IPP is a standards based program that is approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission as an Arts Education Provider. 

I wouldn't care one bit for poems before (Get Lit) came along & now I just can't put them down!

The work Get Lit performs within the schools is outstanding. It is an organization dedicated to changing the face of illiteracy in Los Angeles by reaching out to students other organizations overlook. I would strongly recommend the Get Lit Program to any school lucky enough to get it.

The contribution that Get Lit is making to the education of these youths is truly remarkable. If we intend to maintain an enduring interest among our youth in literature and language, we must lend our support to such programs as Get Lit.