Neutral Zone

Neutral Zone is raising funds to send 5 powerful teen poets to Chicago from July 23rd-27th this summer to participate in Young Chicago Authors' "Write To The City " Summer Camp!

All year these teens have been working hard to develop their poetry through weekly Volume writing wokshops at NZ and performing in events like Poetry Night In Ann Arbor. In April we hosted city-wide slams across Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and from 50 participants, the following 6 teens made the A2/Ypsi squad heading to Chicago: Aldo Leopoldo Pando Girard, Hasna Ghalib, Thea Rowe, Anika Love, and Karley Misek (plus Serena Varner who is unable to attend.)



Leading up to the trip, these teens will meet for weekly writing and team-building workshops with NZ Literary Arts Program Manager Molly Raynor and local poetic superstars Kyndall Flowers and Dylan Gilbert. This squad will be featured at the Skazat Open Mic (at the Sweetwaters on Washington) from 8-8:30pm on July 31st if you want to come get a taste of their beautiful poetry.

NZ literary arts teens have already raised $2,000 for this trip so now we need your help to raise the remaining $2,500 and make this trip possible!

Your support will help cover-

EXPENSES

- Registration fees 
- Van rental for week 
- Dorm lodging
- Food

EXPERIENCES

- Artist Development: taking daily workshops from internationally acclaimed faculty (Jamila Woods, Safia Elhillo, Britteney Black Rose Kapri, Kevin Coval, and Nick Makoha)
- Community-Building: bonding with their team and creating a network with teen poets and professional writers from across the world
- Exposure: field trips to artistic and cultural institutions in Chicago

This is an incredible, life-altering opportunity for our NZ teens to represent Ann Arbor & Ypsi within an international youth arts community. These NZ teens will be able to bloom as writers and leaders, bringing all the knowledge and networks they gain back to share with our community.

Next Steps:

We need to raise these funds as soon as possible so we can register and reserve lodging before the spots are gone. Whether you can donate $5 or $500, your support will get us one step closer to being able to make this dream a reality! We appreciate you so much and will keep you updated every step of the way.