“Poetry Is Not a Luxury”: Reading & Writing Poetry as Illumination & Life

Welcome to our NCTE Session, “Poetry is Not a Luxury” and the pre-write for our monthly Open Write. If you have written with us before, welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, you are in the kind, capable hands of today’s host, so just read the prompt below and then, when you are ready, write in the comment section below. We do ask that if you write, in the spirit of reciprocity, you respond to three or more writers. To learn more about the Open Write, click here.

Inspiration

NCTE Annual Convention ¡Sueños! Pursuing the Light! “Poetry Is Not a Luxury”: Reading & Writing Poetry as Illumination & Life / November 18, 2022, Time: 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. PST, Location: 213-CD

Today, we are gathering in California, at long last, to meet and be in person. For thousands of poems, we have been exchanging lines and verses of our lives on Ethical ELA, and today we do so at roundtables, so welcome to our roundtable session. (Of course, we hope our online friends will join us in the comments today, too.) We’re excited to share poetry teaching ideas, student performances, and a keynote address from Padma Venkatraman with you. Below you will find a list of table presenters and titles for their presentations, as well as a brief description of each. You’ll have a chance to move to your first choice table after Padma’s presentation. 

NCTE-22-Diversity-Suggestions-and-Activities-Handout

• What the Metaphor said to the Simile: Writing Poetry as Argument in Response to Crisis Glenda Funk, MA English; NBCT (Pocatello S.D. # 25, retired) Through poetry, students’ voices become powerful tools for responding to issues, exposing wrongs, and raising awareness. Using mentor texts and an accessible prompt we’ll compose poetry meeting the criteria for a logical argument. (target: secondary, college)*
• The 9-10-11 Poem with Dr. Sarah J. Donovan: Explore all that poetry does for sparking ideas and building writing confidence using accessible, short-form poetry, e.g., Tanka, Skinny, Nonet, and Etheree. With the help of Padma Venkatraman’s narrators in Born Behind Bars and The Bridge Home, we will craft  forms that create, shape, and con(s)train meaning-making. (target: middle and high school)*
• Poetic Fusion with Barbara Edler, MA English, Iowa Wesleyan University. Quick and easy ways to inspire dazzling poetry through art, literature, children’s books, music, and more. Using mentor texts and images, writers will explore ways to write ekphrastic poetry and explore the many avenues available to connect poetry across disciplines. (target: general)*
• Use All Your Estudiantes’ Idiomas  with Denise Krebs, MA Elementary Ed, ASU; TESOL Advanced Practitioner Certificate. Explore writing poetry with words from multiple languages. When teachers allow all language tools to be brought into the English classroom, it  both empowers and adds meaning to every poet’s work.  Suitable for monolingual and multilingual writers (target: all ages)*
• Rediscovering Dreams and Hopes with Healing Power of Language (Dr. Leilya Pitre, Southeastern LA University). In this session, we will learn how to write short poems, including diamante,  sevenling, or echo poem, as a response to reading young adult novels about adolescent struggles and traumatic experiences. Together, we will create a Tree of Hope from the poems we write during the session (target: secondary school).* 
• Tumbling into Poetry: Using Blocks to Unblock with Jennifer Guyor Jowett: Transform students into immediate poets through connections and collaborations by digging deep into the critical thinking box and taking away the pressure of getting started. Using the game of chance and Metaphor Dice, writers will roll, discover, and craft poems with twists by adding kennings, antonymic translations, and line lifts. (target: middle school and above)*
• Rolling the Metaphor Dice: Poetry Is a Game with Mo Daley, MA English, MA Reading Specialist and Margaret Simon, teacher of gifted elementary.  Using hands-on or online Metaphor Dice, you can push your students’ thinking as they explore the relationship between an object and idea. This tool is full of endless creative possibilities.* Metaphor Dice will be rolled. Each writer  will write a quick poem-ish to the same metaphor using the phrase “which is to say.”
• Poetry for Reluctant or Enthusiastic Writers without Lifting a Pencil:  Mashed Potato Cento Poetry! (Dr. Kim Johnson, Pike County, GA Schools).  Teachers will explore ways that even the most reluctant writers can be successful at poetry writing, using a mixture of existing lines of poetry without lifting a pencil – taking snapshots of poetry with a phone camera!* 
• Feedback to Grow Young Poets (i.e. “How to Respond When a Student Writes a Terrible Poem”) with Allison Berryhill: Let’s talk about creating a classroom culture that “breaks into blossom” each student’s inner poet. Effective feedback can boost budding poets’ confidence–and improve their craft. Come share what works for  you!*
• Grab Your Golden Shovel and Dig Up a Poem! (Stacey Joy, NBCT, Los Angeles Unified School District) The Golden Shovel poetry form gives writers a chance to dig up a poem using one line of text from any thought-provoking source (news headlines, other poems, novels, song lyrics, etc.). Teachers will write poetry inspired from selected lines written by Gwendolyn Brooks and Nikki Grimes, our Golden Shovel Greats! (intended for upper elementary and higher)*
• Is Anaheim the Happiest Place on Earth? Let’s Break the Fantasy and Explore Place-based Poetry with Dr. Stefani Boutelier (Aquinas College). Through all senses we will write out our experiences through various poetric forms–to bring memory forward and experience the now. We will create concrete, shape, and found poems as we consider the importance of recognizing the beauty of place and poetry.
• Margaret Simon – Rolling the Metaphor Dice: Poetry Is a Game with Mo Daley, MA English, MA Reading Specialist and Margaret Simon, teacher of gifted elementary.  Using hands-on or online Metaphor Dice, you can push your students’ thinking as they explore the relationship between an object and idea. This tool is full of endless creative possibilities.*

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe.