A University of Colorado at Boulder program that teaches literacy and leadership to seventh and eighth grade Denver students through the use of poetry, called CU in the House, will hold two events on the Boulder campus April 18 and April 21.
On April 18, nationally recognized poet and educator Haki Madhubuti will lecture on "Education and the Poetic Spirit" from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel. The lecture is free and open to the public.
At 7:30 p.m., Madhubuti will appear with prominent Denver poet "Lalo" Delgade from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at an event titled "Bringing Our Communities Together" at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble at 119 Park Ave. West in Denver. The poetry reading and discussion is aimed at bringing the African American and Latino communities together.
On April 21, about 60 students from Morey and Kepner middle schools in Denver will present "Our Poets Speak to Us," in which they will read their own poetry and the poetry of prominent African American and Latino poets in addition to doing performance pieces.
The performance will be held from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Old Main Chapel and is free and open to the public.
The students have worked all year on these presentations, said Shuaib Meacham, a professor of secondary literacy in the CU-Boulder School of Education and the co-creator of CU in the House. The students also will participate in a poetry workshop and meet with representatives of the Career Services office while they are at CU-Boulder.
CU in the House was created by Meacham and Sirat-al Salim, a CU-Boulder doctoral student and former Kepner Middle School teacher based on the tradition of literacy and liberation. This tradition shows that African American and Latino youth have a greater commitment to literacy when it is connected to the theme of community liberation and improvement.