Howard Roland Teen Writing Retreat 2026
Registration is now open for the
Howard Roland Teen Writing Retreat
July 29 through August 3, 2026
Atlantic Center for the Arts is happy to announce Jive Poetic as its featured artist for the 2026 Howard Roland Teen Writing Retreat.
“A Brooklyn-based writer and DJ intermingles hip-hop-inflected sensibilities with different media forms to create a ‘printed mixtape’ of his life… The author’s genre-bending fearlessness and the compelling way he expresses his quest for identity and wholeness through words, images, and music make for a one-of-a-kind read. An emotionally rich and complex work.” —Kirkus Reviews on Skip Tracer
“Jive Poetic blends and bends genres of literature and music into odes to family and community. Multiple rhythms and algorithms, several crates of records, a little Nintendo, some reel-to-reel, some bell hooks, and various portraits live in his pages.” ―Terrance Hayes, author of American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
“Finally, we get to hear from the poet and educator who has lit fires under hundreds of young poets. Jive Poetic mixes history, family, and social commentary to bless us with a one-of-a-kind cross-genre collection.” ―Nicole Sealey, author of The Ferguson Report: An Erasure
Jive Poetic is a writer, organizer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been showcased on PBS News Hour, BET, and season four of TVONE’s Lexus Verses and Flow. International recognition and support for his work has come from the British Arts Council; U.S. Embassies in Australia, Brazil, and Poland; and the Minister Of Culture in Antigua and Barbuda. Jive is the founder of Insurgent Poets Society, Carnival Slam: Cultural Exchange, and the co-founder of the Brooklyn Poetry Slam. In 2017, Jive was the first recipient of the John Morning Award for Art and Service. When he is not on tour, Jive teaches poetry and hip-hop workshops to at-risk youth in New York City and the surrounding area. Jive received his BA in Media Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his MFA in Writing and Activism from Pratt Institute.
Application deadline: Tuesday, July 14, 2026