by Kathy Register
LOWELL – If you prepare a meal, does that make you a chef? Must one be an artist to be creative? Can only poets write poems? These are questions performer and poet Anthony Febo asks middle-school students as part of his “Spoken Word Poetry” program at The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell.
“In my workshops, it’s not so much, ‘This is how to write a good poem.’ It’s less about craft, per se, and more about, ‘Hey, you already have it in you to write poems,” explained the Rhode Island-based spoken-word poet (who uses only his last name professionally).
Febo’s after-school poetry program was created for Arts Elevate, a pilot project supported by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF), and designed to improve the health and wellness of adolescents in Greater Lowell.
“One of the beautiful things about writing is that while it can’t change what happens, it can change the way we feel about what happens,” said Febo, who previously lived and worked in Lowell.
“These workshops are not overtly about mental health,” he added. “It’s more about inviting young people to write about what they feel. Basically, we’re having conversations around what things are on their minds and in their hearts. Then, we explore how to bring those things to the `page or the stage.”
Launched this fall, GLCF’s pilot project, titled Arts Elevate: Embedded Community Artists for Youth Wellness in Greater Lowell, places four artists in 12-week residencies at nonprofit organizations in Acton, Concord, Groton and Lowell (at the Boys & Girls Club), explained Jennifer Aradhya, GLCF’s Vice President of Marketing, Programs & Strategy. The Arts Elevate initiative was developed for Greater Lowell with lead funding from the Barr Foundation through its Creative Commonwealth Initiative.
“Febo’s approach perfectly captures what Arts Elevate is all about: Meeting young people where they are and giving them tools to process their experiences,” said Aradhya. “When we talk about promoting youth wellness through creative engagement, spoken-word poetry is one of the most direct pathways. These students are, literally, giving voice to what’s inside them.”
JuanCarlos Rivera, Deputy Executive Director of The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, agrees.
“This spoken-word program is a lot about building relationships and making sure young people feel comfortable – and willing to try something outside their comfort zone, like poetry,” he said.
“That comfortable foundation is what we want to create,” Rivera continued. “The kids might say, ‘Who’s this new guy? He’s interesting.’ Then they might have a conversation with Febo that has nothing to do with poetry, and they feel heard. It can take off from there. Every young person wants a platform to be heard.”
The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell serves children ages 8 to 18, primarily from Lowell, Dracut and Chelmsford, explained Rivera. “We have more than 1,000 kids registered, with 180 to 200 attending per day.” Most programs run from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with some special events scheduled for the weekends, he said. “We’re mainly an after-school program.”
Offering a wide variety of activities, the Boys & Girls Club focuses on four target areas: academics, life & workforce, character & leadership, and healthy lifestyles, said Rivera. “They can be a sports kid, or a young person who is into the arts, and they can find something they like here. But ideally, we want them to cross over. I really like to have my basketball players writing poetry.”
Working with so many young people who can be dropping in to a number of different programs each week, required flexibility on his part, said Febo. He first envisioned his Arts Elevate curriculum as a series of four monthly masterclasses. But the poet quickly realized he wanted to be on site more often.
“At first, my schedule was once a month, then I upped it to being there two to three times a month. Now I’m going in three or four times a month.”
Designed for teens ages 13 to 16, his workshops attract students in 8th grade up through high school, so his enrollment varies daily and weekly, the poet explained. However, he has a core group of about six regulars.
Febo keeps his workshops low-key and low-pressure.
“I recognize this Boys & Girls Club series is not necessarily a writing program. There’s a big difference between working with young people who are choosing to be in a workshop to write, versus those just coming after school as part of a larger program,” he said.
“However, we can pull out poetry from our lives in all kinds of ways, so we don’t spend a lot of time talking about metaphors and symbolism. We just do it,” Febo stressed. “And afterwards I might say, ‘Do you realize you created a great metaphor there?’ ”
This 12-week “Spoken Word Poetry” program culminates in a final performance in December, when Febo will perform, and also open the stage to students who want to perform their own poems.
Ideally, Art Elevate will have legs and continue to help others in the future, said GLCF’s Aradhya. “What makes Febo’s work at the Boys & Girls Club particularly valuable is how it translates to the toolkit we’re building,” explained Aradhya.
“His flexible, relationship-first approach shows other organizations that embedded-artist programs don’t have to be rigid. They can adapt to the rhythms and needs of each unique setting, while still achieving meaningful wellness outcomes.”
“At the end of this program, I’ll be thrilled if our young people have some level of understanding of spoken-word poetry,” said Rivera. “Plus, hopefully, in finding themselves along the way through this series, they’ll be able to process their own thoughts and feelings. In some cases, if they don’t stop to identify what’s happening in their bodies or what they’re feeling as teenagers, ultimately that could all come out when they’re adults – and maybe in not such healthy ways. It’s much better they learn how to combat that confusion now.”
For more information about The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, visit: https://lbgc.org
For more information about the Greater Lowell Community Foundation Arts Elevate program, or to support this initiative, visit: https://www.glcfoundation.org/arts-elevate/.
