Exploring identity and building community through storytelling and the arts

The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida

presents a…

Words Create Worlds Spoken Word Virtual Showcase.

Make Your Voice Heard!

At Words Create Worlds, high school and college students are invited to apply to participate in a series of workshops that will culminate in a virtual spoken word showcase event. 

Two diverse cohorts of high school and college students from different religious, spiritual and secular backgrounds will come together to participate in a series of five creative workshops culminating in a final spoken word showcase.  Under the facilitation of nationally touring artist and educator, Joe Davis, students will get to know each other, develop community guidelines, and have a crash course in the history and culture of spoken word and slam poetry.  Students will be empowered to reflect on their own personal stories, and to work together to create poetry around their unique identities and backgrounds.  

Students will present their poetry to the community in a final virtual Spoken Word Showcase

This creative writing and performance workshop will empower students to share their unique stories with those who are different from them.  Big truths can be told on small stages, and we can learn about the universal through the particular. In our time together we’ll explore personal narratives through the creative expression of written/spoken word poetry and visual art.

No prior experience in poetry, spoken word, or performance art is required.

Throughout each session, we will curate a collection of writing and visual art from the students to be published in a “zine” or “chapbook” at the end of course.

Each student will receive a notebook to journal in throughout the course. They can take notes, respond to writing prompts, or express themselves creatively through poems, songs, stories, and doodles.

Spoken Word Live Virtual performance will take place on May 23, 2021 from 4:00-6:00pm. 

More information on this event will be coming soon.

Dates for High School Student Workshops:

All workshops will be held from 4:00pm-6:00pm and will be on zoom. Note: All participants must commit to attending all sessions.

  • February 7, 2021
  • February 28, 2021
  • March 7, 2021
  • April 11, 2021
  • May 16, 2021
Commitments from high school students are due by January 27, 2021.
Please contact Serena Ahmed at sahmed@holocaustedu.org with any questions. 
Dates for College Student Workshops: 

All workshops will be held from 4:00pm-6:00pm and will be on zoom. Note: All participants must commit to attending all sessions.

  • February 21, 2021
  • February 28, 2021
  • March 21, 2021
  • April 18, 2021
  • May 16, 2021
 Applications are due by February 1, 2021 

About Our Facilitator: Joe Davis

Joe Davis is a nationally-touring artist, educator, and speaker based in Minneapolis, MN. His work employs poetry, music, theater, and dance to shape culture. He is the Founder and Director of multimedia production company, The New Renaissance, the front man of emerging soul funk band, The Poetic Diaspora, and qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. He has keynoted, facilitated conversation, and served as teaching artist at hundreds of high schools and universities including New York, Boston, and most recently as the Artist-in-Residence at Luther Seminary where he earned a Master’s in Theology of the Arts.

To learn more about Joe, please visit Joedavispoetry.com