On Wednesday evening a few dozen young poets will gather at the Neutral Zone to celebrate the release of their book, Millions of Miniscule Importances. This book is the culmination of this year's Dzanc Writer-in-Residence Program at Ann Arbor Open School. I've written already about how marvelous these kids' poems are, and if you decide to come check them out, I promise you will be glad you did. The kids are brimming with excitement and I know they'll put on a dynamite show.

I have also written about how important I think poetry can be, for children and adults alike. Language and imagination are powerful tools. With them we can build hope and solace. We can bring hidden truths into focus and create visions of change, both in our own lives and in the wider world. As an example, I think of the poem "What Is Not Allowed" by Richard Tillinghast, a commentary on Israel's ongoing blockade of Gaza, which was recently published in The Irish Times, has since been translated into Spanish and Portuguese, and is currently enjoying wide circulation on the Internet. (Note: The following video was not made by the poet, and the voice is not his.)

A poem like Tillinghast's gives life and meaning to the news of the day, beyond what's available from the basic facts or news reports. It is a way of knowing the world we are part of more deeply.

I believe poetry belongs in public education. Not as a cursory two-week unit in an English class. As a vital presence.

I have heard more than one local high school student say with perfect seriousness that her creative writing teacher saved her life. I know students who have graduated and moved on to college, whose sole reason for caring about high school was poetry. This engagement with the imagination matters. This space for young people to establish their own voices, to reflect and recreate the world they experience, matters.

I was heartbroken upon seeing the following video, brought to my attention by the poet Terry Blackhawk, regarding the announced closing of Hanstein Elementary School in Detroit. In the video, InsideOut's Education Director and Hanstein poet-in-residence Suzanne Scarfone discusses what the in-school poetry program has meant to Hanstein's students, and what they will lose when the school closes.

We are fortunate in Ann Arbor to have been spared -- so far -- the specter of school closings and far-reaching program cuts. We are also fortunate in Ann Arbor to have organizations like Dzanc Books, 826michigan, and the Neutral Zone providing literary and artistic opportunities for young people that engage them in ways public education sometimes fails to, especially as curricula are continually being squeezed into standardized ruts. I look forward to celebrating this good fortune with the young poets of Rick and Ko's class tomorrow night at the Neutral Zone. We would be pleased if you would join us.

Scott Beal is a stay-at-home dad and the 2009-10 Dzanc Writer-in-Residence at Ann Arbor Open School. The official release party for Millions of Miniscule Importances will take place Wednesday, June 16, from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at the Neutral Zone (310 E. Washington St.). It is free and open to the public; copies of the book will be available for $9 while supplies last. For more information, contact swbeal@gmail.com.

Cover image for Millions of Miniscule Importances designed by Anders Finholt and Brendan O'Rielly.