About Literature for All of Us
Literature for All of Us is a nationally recognized and award-winning literary arts and literacy organization that brings the rewards of reading and writing to young people in Chicago and nearby Evanston, Illinois. Our book groups provide a safe place where young people can talk openly with each other and respond both personally and aesthetically to literature. The primary goal of our work is to have book group members become literate readers by engaging them with the literature. We also aim to empower teens to think of themselves as intelligent and creative citizens; provide literacy tools for teen parents to use with their children; increase public visibility and awareness of young people's voices; and share books and poetry across class, neighborhood, age, and racial lines.
Literature for All of Us has been conducting book groups at Irene Dugan Alternative High School for the past nine years. Dugan is located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and is a member of the Peace and Education Coalition. Currently, Literature for All of Us provides weekly book groups to serve every student at the school. During these, we encourage the students to express themselves through both the spoken and the written word by providing space for discussion and poetry writing. Their poems are then compiled to create a poetry anthology at the end of the school year. Below are some of the poems written by students at Dugan Alternative High School during the 2007-2008 school year.
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