In this article, the author, who teaches at an elementary school in an area where 96% of the students live below the poverty level and many families have few or no reading materials in their homes, describes how her school has managed to create a climate in which children find joy and self-expression through the writing of poetry. The school's programs have managed to raise reading levels, improve writing scores, and develop in their young people an appreciation for the literary arts. It all concludes with Poetry and Arts Night, a community-based appreciation of students' accomplishments in this School District of Lancaster in Pennsylvania, as well as the students' publication of their own literary magazine, "Sunrise." The original goal that resulted in the creation of Poetry and Arts Night was to fulfill a grant that included a workshop on literacy for parents.