# What Makes Bham Great### **DISCO** helps students develop the creative tools they need to explore and document their worlds.DISCO (**The Desert Island Supply Co.**) offers free after-school and summer creative workshops that are open to any student in the Birmingham area.
## *In-School Programs from DISCO*The Woodlawn Writers Corps is a collective of more than 500 student writers at Oliver Elementary, Avondale Elementary and Putnam Middle School. The students in the Corps meet weekly throughout the school year for curriculum-aligned poetry workshops with volunteers from the Desert Island Supply Co. (DISCO), a nonprofit creative writing program and community arts center based in Woodlawn.
During Woodlawn Writers Corps workshops, students explore how poetry and language intersect with history, science, math and the arts. The sessions are designed to be challenging and fun, with the main goal of strengthening the students’ writing skills, intensifying their intellectual habits and giving them the creative tools they need to explore and document their worlds. At the end of each school year, DISCO’s publishing partner, Squid Inc., publishes an anthology that includes a poem by every Corps member. Each student receives a free copy of the book. You can buy a copy of this year’s anthology, *Jellyfish in Disguise*, at discobham.com/jellyfish. All proceeds from book sales support Woodlawn Writers Corps programming.
Last year, DISCO started a Poem of the Week initiative in the four Woodlawn Writers Corps schools. Poems are placed in the schools’ hallways.
## Select Student Poems from *Jellyfish in Disguise*FLOWERS AND MINT IN THE SUNSHINE | by Maliyah D.*Carrots growing in rows.
I see mint, green and leafy, on a bush
And vegetables—carrots, squash and onions—YUM!
I smell sweet, fresh peppermint,
And blooming bright flowers.
Fish say: “I love your pretty clothes!”
And the peppermint says:
“I love to see you, thank you, visitor!
Can I see you tomorrow?”*
THE OUTSIDE WORLD | by Mack R.*My sky is the color of a diamond,
and snow and a rainbow and a
pumpkin and blood
rain, flames, music
clouds moving, water moving
fire’s flames.*
MY CONSTELLATION | by Julie Ann G.*In the sky a star was born
it was no ordinary star it was an
animal. When the planets were fighting
the star fell into the water.
It hatched! Soon, it grew into the
gods of nature.*
GRIEF | by KC R.*Rocks hard and stubborn
Just as a bird
Hovering over your head
Snails put slime under your feet
Causing you to slide
Snow put on the ground
To weigh your feet down
Fire burns in your brain
Smoke flies out of your mind
Now that you are out of
Time.*
BEST NIGHT EVER | by Nuria T.*blue kool-aid
and a pink sky
yellow sun
tree green and brown
orange is one day
Me, Jaida, Nikhia, May.*
HOW CAN YOU HELP? SIMPLE. BUY THIS BOOK!
**Jellyfish in Disguise** is the 2017 anthology of poetry by the Woodlawn Writers Corps, a collective of more than 500 student writers in Birmingham. Several works are featured on this page.
All proceeds from sales support the work of the Woodlawn Writers Corps.
$20 To purchase visit: **discobham.com**
## The DISCO space (above) in Woodlawn has become a hub for the creative community in Birmingham.
**The Desert Island Supply Co.**is a mostly volunteer-run organization. If you’d like to know more about how to become part of this creative community, email Liz Hughey atliz@desertislandsupplyco.com.
