Through the literary and performing arts, Southern Word offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. This Nashville-based nonprofit organization is committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media.

For this week's broadcast, three poets from Southern Word share their work and talk about the ways that this organization has shaped their own lives:

• Monserrat Escobar Arteaga – Learn more about Monserrat here
• Gray Bulla, 2017 Nashville Youth Poet Laureate – Read one of Gray's poems here
• Que'Dell Chithambo – Follow Que'Dell on Instagram here