AbstractThis practitioner research study investigates the power of multimodal texts within a real‐world context and argues that a participatory culture focused on literary arts offers marginalized high school students opportunities for collaborative design and authoring. Additionally, this article invites educators to rethink the at‐risk label. This research specifically uses a multiliteracies framework to conduct a fine‐grained analysis of a high school literary arts journal. Findings suggest that mapping the multiliteracies framework onto student work uncovers complex meaning‐making, but does not necessarily address the collaborative nature of this particular multimodal project. This research introduces collaborative design as a theoretical hybrid approach that captures the complexities of both the creation of multimodal texts and the rich communities from which they flourish. This research therefore expands the multiliteracies framework, reconsiders the risk label, and explores the promise of a multiliteracies pedagogy.