City Heights is home to a diverse community of first and second generation immigrants and refugees with incredible stories to tell, stories that are too often forgotten or ignored. The Back Alley Poetry Club invites young adults from City Heights to respond to the last 20 years of history in their neighborhood.

Through a series of writing workshops and public performances, fellows tell the stories of their communities while exploring their own personal journeys. In the first season, they co-produced Memoria Terra, a semi-permanent installation weaving poetry, image, and voice into a back alley in the heart of City Heights. The work stands as a reminder of the narratives historically pushed off the “main” street, and a refusal to let the people who shaped this neighborhood be erased by ongoing gentrification.

Season 2

In 2026, the Back Alley poets returned for a second season, extending the Memoria Terra installation with new work. More details coming soon.

Explore the Work

• Visit the Memoria Terra installation, still on view in City Heights

• Read The Back Alley Poetry Club Anthology, available in our Resources

• Watch the mini documentary on the making of Memoria Terra at the bottom of this page