Get Lit, a Los Angeles-based non-profit promoting literacy through poetry, celebrates big success with even bigger dreams
The Get Lit Players
First, their moving performance on The Queen Latifah Show went viral, and now these Los Angeles teen poets are just a few donations away from changing some lives. Founded in 2006 by teacher and literacy coach Diane Luby Lane, Get Lit is a non-profit organization striving to bolster teen literacy rates through poetry. By bringing their specially designed curriculum to area high schools and communities, Get Lit instills in at-risk teens the value of self expression, the skill set needed to craft meaningful, concise poetry, and the confidence necessary to recite their work in front of a room full of strangers.
The non-profit encourages participants to create both classical and spoken word poems, as well as study canonical pieces. Teens also get a chance to put their hard work on display through the program's lauded performance troupe, the Get Lit Players. The students meet weekly for workshops and performances at home and across the country.
As good as things may be going for Get Lit these days—with shout-outs from the Huffington Post and a spot opening for John Legend at the Hollywood Bowl—the organization has even bigger dreams, namely bringing its curriculum to schools nationwide. They currently operate a pilot program in Washington D.C. through After School All-Stars and hope their annual fundraising campaign will allow them to expand further.
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