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Students shuffle into the Writer’s Lab and file into one of eight, cushioned, office chairs placed around a rectangular conference table. Some greet the co-facilitators in the room and enquire about the group’s activities for the day while others quietly slouch into chairs and wait for the group to begin. One student trickles in after all the rest, plops down in the last available seat and immediately puts his head down on the table.

The group begins.

“Everyone in the circle is equal… No one’s voice is more important than anyone else’s… Everyone in the circle is a teacher… Everyone in the circle is a student… Everyone has his or her turn to speak… When one is speaking, all others listen… The circle is sacred and special.”

Most of the students reference a brightly colored poster hanging in the Writer’s Lab to recite the creed, but some know it by heart.

The guidelines in the group are used to support and encourage students to establish social connections and build community. With these group norms, the Poetry Lab becomes a safe place for students to get over their fears about reading and writing and gain confidence in their literacy. Read more

I wish money grew on trees – But, alas, it doesn’t.

We are looking for a volunteer Grant Writer at The Lab.

Are you the one who can help? (or) Maybe you know someone with a grant-writing talent, who will collaborate with me to generate funding for special projects at The Lab (ie…guest artist stipend, poetry anthology publishing costs, technology resources for at-risk youth, etc).

Drop Mary an Email @ mary.tinucci@spps.org

I have been inspired (and affirmed) by several cool programs doing wonderfully creative work in the Twin Cities and I thought my blog would be a good place to give a shout out to them.  Every time I see another organizations putting art in the heart of their work with youth, it affirms to me that we are doing a good thing at The Lab.  As it says in the tag line of Free Arts Minnesota, Art Heals.  Indeed.

Read on to check out these cool organizations.  Maybe you will find yourself volunteering at The Lab, or one of these other great organizations.  You will be among those people working to make a difference with art at the heart.   Read more

I’ve been thinking a lot about inspiration lately.  How to find it, and then, how to use it in order to create the best fruitful outcomes at The Lab.  In other words, I’m searching for role models who inspire me to grow our work at The Lab.  In broader terms, I’m forever asking myself how we can change the world and education for the better?  This is my challenge. Read more

So, if you haven’t noticed already, I am a very infrequent blogger on this site.  However, I just sent out our Lab March E-Newsletter, and I was feeling pretty happy and decided it was time to post a blog.  As I read all of what is going on at The Lab right now, taking a wider view (not the usual myopic and driven view of which I am accustomed), I can breathe easier than I have of late.  It takes quite a lot of orchestrating to make all of the Lab activities come to life.  There are days I feel buried in details and worry, nervous that something might not go just right.

But today, as I see the March summary of great Lab activities and Mentors who are making a difference for students, I am reminded why I love my job. We are making a difference, and it matters.  I love that.

When we kicked off The Lab @ Homecroft this year, I had no concept of how intense it would be to take The LAB to the next level. I had no idea what key elements would be required in order to bring this vision to life. Three months later, it is clear to me – it takes teamwork and hospitality. It is also clear to me, that our students are always watching us – our behavior, our example… Read more

Is is trite to say that poetry has saved my life? Or maybe, it is completely grandiose. Either way, it is true for me. It was 12 years ago, at the age of 30, when I first dipped my toe into the waters of poetry. Immediately, my heart was soothed, my emotional internal world felt at ease, understood…

Read more

If you haven’t done this already, I encourage you to check out our Upcoming Events & Workshops page. There are a lot of great speakers, workshops, conferences coming to town.  Hopefully, you will get a chance to attend one of these poetry, writing and creativity-connected opportunities.  I’ll look for you!

~ Mary T.

New years resolutions have been made, and now, 30 days in, I’m evaluating progress. This evaluation, however, (and thank goodness) has nothing to do with losing weight or exercising more. It has to do with growing a vision. A resolution of sorts, I have committed myself to growing The Lab into a program that stands and operates in ways that extend beyond me. Read more

There is a lot to celebrate at this time of year. In the Poetry Lab, we have already had our first end-of-term “Book Release & Album Drop” at Central High School. It was a great success. The room was packed. Eleven Poetry Lab Participants were present, as were many supporters, including, school staff, mentors, interns, administrators, other students and some parents. Many of the poets read/performed, and we listened to a portion of the new CD. It was great to see these youth share their success with writing, and great to see their confidence rise enough to read their work in this public setting. Check out this poem, by a veteran poet from The Poetry Lab.

Here is a preview of the cover of our new Poetry Anthology Volume 4 and the CD.

With a donation of $10, each are available to you. All proceeds will support the printing of our next publication in May. If you want to see a fun poem written and performed by some mentors, check this out! This week, we will celebrate at Highland Jr. and West 7th. Maybe we’ll see you there? Peace to you!

~ Mary

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