SAYS: SACRAMENTO AREA YOUTH SPEAKS

Poet Mentors Needed!!! ASAP

2010-08-09T20:48:00.001-07:00

Greetings Community Partners,

SAYS is currently recruiting our next cohort of SAYS poet-mentor educators at $10/hour to work in schools throughout the Capital Region. We have positions available in after-school programs as well as through our classroom residency program. If you are a POET, MENTOR, and/or EDUCATOR, I highly encourage you to reach back to the next generation to help transform our future. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact the SAYS Coordinator, Amaya Noguera, at: noguera.amaya@gmail.com. Thank you and please forward this announcement widely.

Looking Forward,
Vajra

www.says.ucdavis.edu

BNV Slideshow 2010

2010-08-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings SAYS Community,

The Sacramento team just returned from Brave New Voices, the international youth poetry competition. We are proud that SAYS made it to the Semi-Finals, but even more important, we are moved by the power of spoken word to reach and teach this generation. Nate Hall, a SAYS student, just made this beautiful slideshow:

WELCOME AND PLEASE POST YOUR POETRY!!!

2009-06-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

If you want to post your poetry to this blog please add us as a follower on the right hand side. Send an email request to INTENSE at intenseproductionz@gmail.com

This blog is for you and by you; the youth of Sacramento...916 STAND UP!

At Sacramento Area Youth Speaks , the voices of youth matter. Committed to a critical, youth-centered pedagogy, Sacramento Area Youth Speaks places students in control over their intellectual and artistic development. SAYS is driven by the belief that literacy is a need, not a want, and that literacy comes in various forms. SAYS believes that having knowledge, practice, and confidence in the written and spoken language is essential to the self-empowerment of an individual, and that by paying attention to the cultivation and amplification of their voices, youth can forge new paths to success. SAYS fills an essential need for creative approaches to literary arts education and literacy in general; understanding that it is crucial to provide spaces where youth can undergo a process of personal growth and empowerment. SAYS programs enrich the educational, professional, and leadership skills of teenagers across the country

SAYS Poets On-Air 103.5 the Bomb Sunday May 14, 2009

2009-06-10T02:08:00.000-07:00

Check out SAYS Poets this Sunday May 14th 2009 on 103.5 the Bomb on the new Northen California show "80 West" hosted by Nikia and Famous from 8pm-10pm. Spoken word artists Dahlak, Charday Adams, Nate, and INTENSE are gonna be BUSTIN at the mic so please tune in and tell your friends and family.

SAYS OPEN MIC: DPH SPEAKS! WED JUNE 24th 6-9pm

2009-06-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

Please attend DPH Speaks! June 24th Wednesday from 6pm to 9pm @ The Firehouse Community Center (810 Grand Ave, Sacramento CA 95838). Hosted by SAYS SLAM CHAMPION Charday Adams and DJ ROCK Bottom. DPH Speaks brings youth and adults together to perform Spoken Word/Poetry in their community. Please join us this month as we meet every last wednesday of every month!

Poet-Mentor Workshop 6pm-7pm
OPEN MIC 7pm-9pm

Please RSVP now and send an email to: gtorres@mutualassistance.org

Please Attend TRUSD Summer Institute June 8th-13th

2009-06-10T00:14:00.000-07:00

Please attend our upcoming TRUSD Summer Institute from Monday, June 8th - Saturday, June 13th from 8-3pm at MLK Junior High School in Sac. Here is the link for MLK (not to be confused with the SCUSD MLK) -- http://www.twinriversusd.org/schools/mlk/
Experience in the arts leads to meaningful learning, achievement, and finding one's voice for social change:

Monday-Wednesday: Creative Dramatics/Theatre Games; Use of Voice; & More
Thursday: Youth Culture, Spoken Word, and U
Friday: Building Innovative Curriculum
Saturday: Each 1 Teach 1
Saturday (6.13.09) from 6-9pm: SAYS SLAM at MLK Little Theater. Sign up to Spit at 5:30p sharp!

Why should I attend? If you are interested in working in the schools, this is an amazing (& free) opportunity. We will build upon what you learned at the SAYS PD training on Saturday, May 16th... yet, at this Institute, we will go even deeper into the specifics of reaching and teaching today's youth.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT NOW! RSVP: vmwatson@ucdavis.edu OR Sherilene.Chycoski@Twinriversusd.org

The 1st Annual SAYS Teen Poetry SLAM on May 15, 2009

2009-06-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

To all those who missed SAYS 1st Annual Teen Poetry Slam it was a wonderful experience and INTENSE night...the show was hosted by Sac native Dahlak @ Davis, CA Veteran's Memorial Auditorium and was a hard SLAM to judge...everyone who participated deserved scores of 10 for their Brave New Voices. In the end, Grant High School's very own, Charday Adams was crowned the SAYS SLAM CHAMPION. Shout outs to Zany who was a definite crowd pleaser with her vicious flow. Please get ready for Summer 2009 programming and for the 2009-2010 school year for more great things to come.
Here are some photos from the event:

CAL MIDDLE SCHOOL'S 1st Annual Poetry Slam

2009-04-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

CAL MIDDLE SCHOOL'S 1st Annual Poetry Slam was a huge success... Hosted by SAYS very own INTENSE (www.intenseproductionz.com) and CAL Middle School's best teacher Ellen Holt. There were so many students from CAL Middle School and McClatchy High School that the night lasted an hour longer due to high demand in poets wanting to perform their pieces they worked so hard during our writing workshops...We can't wait for next years event. In the end, Cal Middle's very own Lavesha Cisco won the title of Slam Champion from a tear-jerker poem about her own personal experiences within her family. Please watch this awesome poet spit her heart out in front of strangers and peers; a Brave New Voice created in front of your very own eyes...

HBO'S BRAVE NEW VOICES

2009-03-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

SAYS COLLECTIVE....

CHECKOUT THE NEW DOCUMENTARY FOR HBO'S NEW SERIES "BRAVE NEW VOICES."

SAC-TOWN IS NEXT IN LINE...

Hurts Me Soul by INTENSE

2009-03-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

By INTENSE

(Inspired by Lupe Fiasco)

I'm so affected/

How I neglected/

Your pain and feelings/

Told a lie to withhold the truth/

Came back and pulled the tooth/

HURTS ME SOUL

No hope just despair/

Made fun of U about ya hair/

Cheated on you with no purpose/

Now I feel so hopeless/

HURTS ME SOUL

Time Spent on late nite conversations/

Connections linking relations/

So I pray for forgiveness/

Yet double standards inspired this/

HURTS ME SOUL

Now I have to change my arrangement/

Or lose out on a future engagement/

No ring needed or symbol required/

White dress black tux so uninspired/

No wedding bells or rice in place/

Unconditional Love in dire need of space/

HURTS ME SOUL

All beginnings have an End/

What French Films call FIN/

Finding Forever was our love/

But Love was conquered by distrust/

And without trust there is no L.O.V.E./

HURTS ME SOOOOOOOUUUUULLLLLL!

Thanks LUPE!

Youth Steering Committee

2009-03-29T05:36:00.000-07:00