Big Class

Oh wow. I attended a benefit for Big Class last night (thanks to fellow yelpers Alvin & Re) and was SOOOOO impressed with the students who read from their work. I had to buy a copy of the Pizza Poetry Project chapbook for my very own. Yep pizza poetry...for Poetry Month student poems were printed out and delivered with pizzas around town. How cool is that?!Big Class is a city wide...well GNO wide...project that allows students (6-18) to express themselves through writing. It is a non-profit with a group of dedicated volunteers and teachers. And I can see why. The student's creativity is beautiful and infectious.I remember wandering through the St. Claude space during an art walk a couple of years ago and after attending the benefit last night, I'm so impressed with how much they've expanded. What a great project! I'm glad my fellow yelpers introduced me to the amazing creativity and good works.

Jen pretty much summed it up, but allow me to weigh in with my two cents.Re invited me to an event featuring young writers who attend Big Class, and after learning a bit about it and that Alvin was involved, I was excited to attend. I love to write myself, so I am always happy to support new and up and coming writing talent.I was absolutely blown away by the talent that I witnessed coming out of Big Class. These young people are such amazing and incredible writers. They are poised in front of a large crowd, they know how to take control of the room with their words and they impressed me as beyond smart. I really enjoyed the readings and I was left wishing that there was a program like Big Class when I was a kid.I thought it was so great that they sell books with the students writing, as I feel like publishing their work and getting it out into the community is a perfect way to encourage these young people to write more.I am so glad to have learned about Big Class and I look forward to attending future readings. The students that attend this program are definitely worth keeping an eye on; they are going to be doing big things.