Jeff Kass has helped young writers in Ann Arbor discover something powerful: their voices matter. Now, after 32 years as a public-school teacher—including 30 years at Pioneer High School—Kass is preparing for a new chapter while celebrating the literary community he helped build.
On May 22, poets, students, alumni and nationally acclaimed literary figures will gather at Pioneer for “Poems for the People!,” a major celebration of Kass’ teaching career and the enduring impact of youth poetry in Ann Arbor. Organized through Dzanc Books, the event will feature an extraordinary lineup including Patricia Smith, Hanif Abdurraqib, Ross Gay, Sarah Kay and Shira Erlichman, along with former students and current young poets.
For Kass, seeing so many literary stars rally around the event is deeply meaningful.
“It is a huge honor that so many luminaries want to be involved with our community,” Kass said. “Many of them have longstanding relationships with our writers and have themselves been huge influences on our writers or have helped build our community.”
He added that many of those now-famous writers were connected to Ann Arbor’s poetry scene long before achieving national recognition.
“Writers like Ross, Patricia, and Hanif were part of what we were doing here long before they gained the kind of natural renown they currently enjoy,” he said. “They are all big-hearted people who care about our community and want to continue to help build what we continue to develop.”
Over the years, Kass became one of the defining figures in Ann Arbor youth poetry through initiatives such as The VOLUME Youth Poetry Project, The Ann Arbor Youth Poetry Slam, Ann Arbor WordWorks, and Poetry Night. While teaching full-time at Pioneer, he also served as Literary Arts Director at The Neutral Zone for twenty years, which he describes as a long-standing incubator for creativity.
When reflecting on how the voices of young writers have evolved over the decades, Kass noted changes in style but continuity in emotional depth.
“There used to be a lot more high-energy rhythmic writing than I see these days,” he said, pointing to the waning influence of hip-hop aesthetics in youth poetry. Still, he emphasized that there has never been one singular voice defining Ann Arbor students. “The beauty of the community has always been the acceptance of many individual voices being allowed to flourish in their own style.”
Throughout his career, Kass has championed the idea that poetry belongs to everyone—not just academics or professional writers.
“Every day in Creative Writing class, somebody shares something about how complicated, difficult and wonderful it is to be human,” he said. “We all have stories inside of us, we all have feelings.”
For Kass, poetry workshops and classroom readings were never simply about critique or performance.
“When we share pieces in the classroom, we are not just sharing our writing, we are literally sharing pieces of our journeys as humans,” he said. “We grow and learn from each other.”
That philosophy may explain why spoken word poetry continues to resonate with younger generations despite the rise of TikTok and fast-paced digital media.
“What resonates is the raw human voice, the authentic human experience, the power of vulnerability,” Kass said. “In some ways, poems have always been short-form media, bits of distilled experience hitting hard.”
Over 32 years, countless student performances left lasting impressions on him. Kass recalled hearing poet Angel Nafis perform a poem about the devastating Asian tsunami when she was only about 15 years old.
“She seemed to conjure the horror of people being swept into the ocean in a manner that still sticks with me now, nearly 25 years later,” he said.
He also remembered a moving poem by Noah Arhm Choi about their mother working at Iris Dry Cleaners in Ann Arbor.
“The last line talks about their mom being so honest that she always returned quarters she found in people’s pockets,” Kass recalled. “I’ve never forgotten how powerful that sense of personal integrity felt.”
Another unforgettable moment came from former student Anthony Zick, whose poem about a woman suffering a stroke during a writers’ conference became, in Kass’s words, “a beautiful, moving poem that continues to help anyone who witnessed that moment process it.”
What ties those memories together, Kass said, is empathy.
“I love how poems can do that,” he said. “It makes me believe there’s enough good in us, even now in these exceedingly challenging times, that we can make this world better than it currently is.”
A full-time literary role
As he transitions into a full-time literary role with Dzanc Books and expanded programming at the Dzanc House in Ypsilanti, Kass admits he feels both excitement and uncertainty.
“Being a teacher of young people has already made my writing exponentially better,” he said. “Without being forced to inspire myself in order to further inspire my students, I do worry my own energy to write will lack vitality.”
Still, he hopes the additional time will deepen his own creative work while allowing him to continue mentoring the next generation of writers across Washtenaw County.
“The hope is to recreate what we built at The Neutral Zone, but for both youth and adults,” Kass said in the press release announcing the event. “In this era of overwhelming screentime and artificial intelligence, the need for authentic human-to-human connection through poetry and storytelling is more acute than ever.”
Kass also believes Ann Arbor’s literary ecosystem remains strong because of the people already carrying the torch forward.
“People like Cam Finch, Amanda May Moore, Cat Bradley and Molly Raynor are already doing incredible things locally,” he said. “What I want to do now is help provide sustainable fuel so those torches can keep burning.”
At the center of Kass’s teaching philosophy is one simple idea—a message repeated to generations of students:
“Your story matters.”
Poems for the People!
As the May 22 celebration approaches, Kass hopes the evening becomes more than a retirement tribute. He wants it to remind people of the transformative power of art, storytelling, and community.
“In this age of cynicism, disillusion, and discouragement, the power of story and the limitless imagination can still save us,” Kass said. “Let’s have one magical night of dynamic word power, community, and connection.”
Near the end of the evening, Kass plans to close the show by reading from a new poem reflecting on his teaching journey. The final line captures his feelings about more than three decades in education:
The show will take place in Schreiber Auditorium at Pioneer High School at 601 W. Stadium Blvd in Ann Arbor and run from 7-9pm on May 22.
Tickets are $5 for students of any kind, $15 for members of the general public, and can be purchased @ Poems for the People! All proceeds to benefit the non-profit press Dzanc Books and literary arts programs at the Dzanc House. Contact Jeff Kass @ [email protected] for more info or @ 734-223-7443.
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
