poetry is compiled, woven together, and piublished in a free book by and for oaklanders of all ages available at the dept. of make / believe.

Write Your Roots is an annual all-Town, multi-generational poetry collaboration!

At Chapter 510, we believe that writing is an act of liberation, that narrative matters, and that imagination is a source of power. 

Every year, Chapter 510 organizes Write Your Roots in partnership with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Roots. Write Your Roots is an annual all-Town epic poetry project which activates our multi-racial, multi-generational Oakland community to write a collaborative poem together.

WRITE YOUR ROOTS 2020:
Because THIS CITY BY Oakland

My motherland
looks like a colorful town
smells like fresh air all around trees 
tastes like pure life
an ancient, peaceful place

The feeling when I'm in Guadalajara
hot weather 
the smell of the rain
the city is like heaven
That's how my motherland is
just beautiful

My motherland is a small village
we visit every summer
feels like a second home
a green land in México
where my mom was born 
and my grandmother lives
…. (real full poem here)

write your Roots 2022: Because this BODY

There are places in me that feel
out of place, in hopes of falling into the right 
place. I dream of the right place, right time, 
right roar, soar, I want to dream of possibility. 
And I want to go for it, but I don’t know 
what to think. There are places I don’t 
even know yet. For us right here, nothing 
is impossible. Impossible is nothing. 
In my eyes, Oakland is limitless.

When my eyes close, I see static. I think 
to myself, “Did I just discover reality?” 
And dark. Darkness. I hear ocean water. 
I feel very good. I feel warmth spreading 
inwards and outwards. I imagine I was in 
the middle of space with the stars, reading.
I hear cars drive down the street and 
feel rain on my skin. I see all genders 
and say all pronouns. I open my eyes.
Crack. Mark. Beautiful sound. Music. 
The breeze. My cells growing, ebbing, 
flowing into darkness. The bass hitting 
hard and calling me home…Read entire poem here.

write your Roots 2021: Because we are power

Oakland is made of the real deal 
(he, she, they, them and
those who care). We are Oakland. Oakland is
Oakland is Oakland is Oakland is us, is not
for praise or to please. Is safe ways to help,
Oakland is made of the lake on Sundays, the
hills and the valleys of beauty and hope, of earth,
of a growing oak tree, of interstates,
potholes and poets. Is painted
boards of bright colors for warmth in our eyes, is
geese pooping at Lake Merritt, swarming helicopters,
is culture like ingredients in a stew, coming
together to make something new— (read full poem here)