Outlet, in conjunction with the 57 Miles Initiative, is a poetry outreach program for high schools in the Black Belt region, many of which have some of the lowest literacy rates in the state. The new program will launch in spring 2015.
Dana Sweeney, a sophomore majoring in English and one of Outlet’s coordinators, said the program has a two-part goal for the high school children.
“Many of these kids have issues outside of school that affect them in school, but they aren’t in a position to talk about them,” he said. “We want to use poetry to promote literacy and also give them a positive medium of expression.”
The idea for Outlet began with a three-week intensive creative writing and theatre summer program headed by Sweeney in Marion, Alabama. After success there, Sweeney decided to team up with 57 Miles, a group that focuses on programs in Marion, to design an eight-week intensive contemporary poetry program which they hope to feature in ten high schools.
Anastasiya Titarenko, a freshman majoring in political science and Outlet coordinator, said she hopes the program will foster a positive environment for students to express themselves.
“At the end of the spring semester, we want to get them all together on campus for a poetry slam where they can share their work and get feedback from other writers around campus and around the state,” Titarenko said.
Outlet is also associated with the Spark! mentoring program, in which Sweeney and Titarenko are both involved. Spark! pairs college freshmen with high school freshmen for four years of mentorship in leadership and service.
When mentoring with Spark!, Sweeney said the high school students are surprised to see their college mentors return after the winter break.
“We want them to know that someone outside their school cares about them and their success,” he said.
