Chapter 510 Celebrates Release of When The Stars Bloom in Oakland at OUSD Lit Fest!
This month, Chapter 510 celebrated the release of our latest book When The Stars Bloom in Oakland at the OUSD Lit Fest. This anthology of poems was written by 200 4th graders— with Chapter 510 teaching artists and mentors in eight classrooms at six different schools across the Oakland Unified School District.
The event was a beautiful celebration surrounded by stories, community, and uplifting Oakland as a town deeply shaped by values that support reading and writing growth.
Hanna Sufrin, OUSD Elementary Literacy Coordinator shares, “The performances by the 4th Grade poets brought the spirit to this year’s Lit Fest. Lit Fest centers on showcasing our students’ writing accomplishments, and what better way to celebrate than with a published anthology of magnificent poetry? Our young writers deserve to feel that what they write really matters to the community around them, and Chapter 510 helped make that happen at Lit Fest - with the distribution of their books and the numerous stages they designed for students to share their voices.”
Chapter 510 staff distributed almost 300 books to Oakland families, including Mayor Barbara Lee who stopped by our booth and spoke with some of our poets.
Young authors from the anthology also hopped on the mic to read their poems for the community and even had the opportunity to be interviewed by KALW on their creative processes.
“I really enjoyed meeting these poets. They were incredibly poised and their work was deep,” shared Jeneé Darden — award-winning journalist and public speaker.
This anthology was the culmination of the pilot year of Chapter 510’s Young Poet’s Expedition. This initiative is a part of our three-year strategic plan goals to deepen our impact in OUSD schools and include more literacy-based curriculums across the district, focusing on creative writing and poetry. Ultimately, this initiative aims to engage every 4th grader in OUSD in writing and publishing poetry. Learn more about the Young Oakland Poet’s Expedition here.
Dr. Carin Geathers, principal of Burckhalter Elementary School noted, “One of our young poets has been floating down the halls of school since he was published. He is brimming with pride.”
We are grateful to have had the opportunity to celebrate work from the first year of The Young Poets Expedition with the Oakland community. Our deepest thanks to OUSD for their partnership in uplifting young people to write skillfully and with joy. And thanks and congratulations to the 4th grade poets, who showed us all why it’s crucial that Oakland youth harness the power of their own stories to advocate for themselves, Oakland, and the world.