Get Lit

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Get Lit — Words Ignite
Founded2006; 19 years ago (2006)
FounderDiane Luby Lane
TypeNonprofit organization
Location
Websitewww.getlit.org

Get Lit — Words Ignite is an American non-profit organization, based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 by author and educator Diane Luby Lane,[1] Get Lit works to increase literacy rates and empower youth and communities through poetry and visual media.[2][3][4]

History

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Get Lit – Words Ignite was founded in 2006 in Los Angeles by Diane Luby Lane. The inspiration for Get Lit began with a solo slam poetry show that Lane toured with Jimmy Santiago Baca, in venues ranging from high schools and universities to prisons.[5][6] After teachers and students responded with requests for poetry in their classrooms, Lane developed a curriculum to engage marginalized youth through spoken word. Get Lit began as a project of Community Partners, before incorporating as a 501(c)(3) in 2009.[7][4][8]

In 2023, the Library of Congress recognized Get Lit as one of fifteen Literacy Best Practice Honorees.[9] That same year, the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals named Get Lit an Outstanding Nonprofit Organization.[10] Get Lit received a gift of more than one million dollars from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in 2024.[11]

Activities

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Every year since 2012, Get Lit has hosted a 3-day Classic Slam poetry competition for students to compete by performing classic poems alongside their own spoken word responses, with 2020 and 2021 being online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 240 students competed, watched by 34,630 people via livestream.[12]

In 2014, Get Lit poets Belissa Escobedo, Rhiannon McGavin, and Zariya Allen were featured on The Queen Latifah Show.[13] In 2016, founder Diane Luby Lane and nineteen poets from the organization wrote the Nautilus Award-winning book Get Lit Rising.[8][14]

In 2018, the Get Lit Players were designated Peace Day Ambassadors by the United Nations and performed their poetry for world leaders at the U.N. 73rd General Assembly as part of the global movement "United Voices for Peace." They partnered with Toms Shoes to distribute a poetry and art magazine from the event to more than 15,000 youth across the United States.[15][16] In March of that same year, videos by Get Lit poets were broadcast for the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., opening for presenters including Lin-Manuel Miranda and X González.[17][18]

Twenty-seven Get Lit poets wrote and starred in the feature film Summertime, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. It was released to theaters nationwide in the summer of 2021.[19][20]

In 2022, the ADL Stand Up Award-winning documentary film "Our Words Collide" premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, featuring five poets from the Get Lit program.[21] In January of that same year, Get Lit announced a partnership with the Writers Guild Foundation to allow for mentoring of young storytellers by professional screenwriters.[22] Later, in May, Get Lit founder, Diane Luby Lane and two Get Lit poets were featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Get Lit official website
  2. ^ Change Lab from ArtCenter College of Design - "Get Lit Words Ignite founder Diane Luby Lane on empowering teens through spoken word poetry"
  3. ^ D'Souza, Karen. "LA arts education group fights falling literacy rates through poetry". EdSource. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b The Los Angeles Times - "Get Lit Players bring poetry's emotions to other L.A. teenagers"
  5. ^ "Deep Sea Diving". Backstage. 15 June 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Born Feet First". Diane Luby Lane. 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  7. ^ "Get Lit-Words Ignite Founder Diane Luby Lane - Visionary Poet, Writer, Educator, Actress". The Hard Way. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  8. ^ a b "Diane Luby Lane". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  9. ^ "Library of Congress Announces 2023 Literacy Awards on International Literacy Day".
  10. ^ "National Philanthropy Day 2023 - AFP Greater Los Angeles Chapter".
  11. ^ "NEW: Get Lit awarded the Yield Giving Open Call | Get Lit".
  12. ^ "Events - Classic Slam". www.getlit.org. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  13. ^ Gripenwaldt, Jordan. “Girl Poets Slam American School System in Rhyme, and It’s a Sight to Behold.” Germ Magazine, January 12, 2015. Accessed July 17, 2025. https://germmagazine.com/girl-poets-slam-american-school-system-in-rhyme-and-its-a-sight-to-behold/
  14. ^ Lane, Diane Luby (2016-10-18). Get Lit Rising. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-58270-576-7.
  15. ^ Johns, Nikara (2018-09-28). "Toms Teams Up With Young Poets to Create & Deliver 55,000 Copies of a Magazine Promoting Peace". Footwear News. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  16. ^ "Toms Teams Up With Young Poets to Create & Deliver 55,000 Copies of a Magazine Promoting Peace". www.yahoo.com. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  17. ^ Get Lit - Get Lit Players
  18. ^ "Change Lab Podcast 34: Get Lit Words Ignite founder Diane Luby Lane on empowering teens through spoken word poetry". ArtCenter College of Design. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  19. ^ Entertainment Weekly - "See exclusive poster for Sundance spoken-word poetry film Summertime"
  20. ^ Collider - "'Summertime' Stars on Their Unique Journey to Hollywood"
  21. ^ Carey, Matthew (2022-02-22). "'Our Words Collide' Trailer: Doc From EP Rosario Dawson Gives Platform To Young Poets — "It's Ultimately A Coming-Of-Age Story"". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  22. ^ Pener, Degen (2022-01-27). "Writers Guild Foundation Announces Youth Screenwriting Program With Spoken Word Nonprofit Get Lit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  23. ^ Watch The Kelly Clarkson Show - Official Website Highlight: Kelly Clarkson Cries During Powerful Student Poetry Reading - NBC.com, 2022-05-02, retrieved 2022-05-10
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