This year, students in twenty schools across the city improved their literacy and were empowered through the reading, writing, discussion and presentation of poetry in their classrooms.

These poems reflect the every day experiences of young people who are by turns thoughtful, funny, reflective and brave. They represent the process and the product of engaged writing and thinking and we are proud to present that work here.

Two new ventures inform this collection. For the first time, the anthology is presented exclusively on line where it is accessible to all. Secondly, our participation in the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read project offered all of our students the opportunity for focused study of the poetry of American poet, Robinson Jeffers. Some of the poetry presented here reflects that work.

Please remember that Hands on Stanzas students are encouraged to express their thoughts and emotions through poetry. The ideas in each poem are the opinions and views of each student poet and are not the opinions and views of the Poets in Residence, classroom teachers, school administrators or The Poetry Center of Chicago.

We would also like to thank the Chicago Public school administrators and teachers involved with the program for their time, talent, attention and support. The program could not run without the truly dedicated educators that we encounter every day in our school visits. We would also like to thank all our donors and sponsors for helping make Hands on Stanzas possible.

And finally, a huge thanks to our Poets-in-Residence whose endless creativity and dedication are the heart and soul of the Hands on Stanzas program.