Poem as Big as the City

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“The name of the project exudes the enthusiasm, the optimism, and the possibilities of coming together as one New York City. Young people have few opportunities to participate in citywide ventures that allow them to shine as thoughtful and creative individuals.”
—Sandra Payne
Assistant Director for Education Outreach
The New York Public Library

T&W’s newest program, A Poem as Big as the City, will engage thousands of young New Yorkers in the literary arts and will bring professional writers to hundreds of libraries, museums, schools, and other community sites throughout New York City.

A Poem as Big as the City includes three main components:

  1. Writing Workshops: T&W writers will lead hundreds of writing workshops in which thousands of young people will write poems about their experiences growing up in the neighborhoods of New York City.
  2. Publication of A Poem as Big as the City: T&W will publish a book of the best youth poetry. The book will be distributed citywide, including to libraries and schools.
  3. Public Readings: Youth poets will present a public reading of their poems alongside well-known New York writers at significant community sites in each borough.

This summer, T&W initiated the first workshops for A Poem as Big as the City. T&W writers led workshops at public library branches, museums, and community sites in neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. To view a full list of project partners, click here.

The very first workshop was held in Washington Heights in partnership with Groundswell. For this A Poem as Big as the City workshop, young people wrote poems that were eventually included as part of a mural in the subway tunnel at 191st Street.

For more information about A Poem as Big as the City and to browse project materials, please follow the links below:

A Poem as Big as the City is made possible in part through the support of the Lily Auchincloss Foundation and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

To make a donation in support of A Poem as Big as the City or to discuss sponsorship opportunities for the project’s public activities and publication, please contact us at info@twc.org or 212-691-6590.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Please check back this fall for dates of writing workshops to be held at locations including the American Folk Art Museum, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York City Transit Museum, and Old Stone House.

To bring A Poem as Big as the City to your organization or school, please contact T&W’s program director at workshops@twc.org or 212-691-6590.

PROJECT LINKS