Early in 2024, I had the opportunity to teach a four-week writing workshop to a group of middle school students participating in Proyecto RAICES, a program for Hispanic and Latinx students. I never thought much about teaching before, and never really expected to teach younger kids. But the chance to use poetry out in the world hooked me, and I said yes. I had no lesson plans, I'd be starting from scratch. All I had was poetry, and a few vague ideas I'd been incubating for a while. And fear. New things, even if they're good things, are always scary. Even if your only audience is a dozen middle school kids whose opinions will neither make nor break you, it's still scary.
I did my best not to have any expectations about what the kids knew or had already been exposed to, or for what kind of work we might create together. But with some help and some flexibility--on my part and theirs--we wrote poetry together.
I did my best not to have any expectations about what the kids knew or had already been exposed to, or for what kind of work we might create together. But with some help and some flexibility--on my part and theirs--we wrote poetry together.
Teaching those sessions ended up being one of the most positive experiences I've ever had with poetry.
I learned so much from those kids, about what works and doesn't in a teaching setting, how to pivot and adapt on my feet when something isn't working. That where adults will politely go along with something even if a lesson is falling flat, kids will make it known when they're bored or disinterested--or when they're absolutely engaged--if not through their words then their behavior and body language. And if they weren't engaged, that was my problem, not theirs. They were excited when I was excited.
In 2025, I will be putting together an anthology of poetry from local poets, also funded by ArtsForward. This organization has been funding some exciting new projects in the Akron area, and I'm eager to bring forth this literary project. I'll be putting together a "40 over 40" anthology of poets--in contrast with so many "30 under 30" lists--to celebrate the talent of experienced poets in Summit County and surrounding areas, as well as some other writing events surrounding the book and its release next summer. Stay tuned for announcements about poetry submissions.
I'm so grateful to ArtsForward for the opportunity to make this happen, and I feel blessed to be in the place I am at the time that I am. I'm not overlooking that Akron has plenty of challenges and pain, but I also believe that the art we have, the talented people we have, the good we have here, when harnessed, can also heal and meet those challenges.
Peace in 2025.
I learned so much from those kids, about what works and doesn't in a teaching setting, how to pivot and adapt on my feet when something isn't working. That where adults will politely go along with something even if a lesson is falling flat, kids will make it known when they're bored or disinterested--or when they're absolutely engaged--if not through their words then their behavior and body language. And if they weren't engaged, that was my problem, not theirs. They were excited when I was excited.The program was made possible by a grant from ArtsForward, and I'm so grateful to them and to Yoly Miller for inviting me to be part of the project. You can read some of the poems written in our workshops at Proyecto Letras.
In 2025, I will be putting together an anthology of poetry from local poets, also funded by ArtsForward. This organization has been funding some exciting new projects in the Akron area, and I'm eager to bring forth this literary project. I'll be putting together a "40 over 40" anthology of poets--in contrast with so many "30 under 30" lists--to celebrate the talent of experienced poets in Summit County and surrounding areas, as well as some other writing events surrounding the book and its release next summer. Stay tuned for announcements about poetry submissions.
I'm so grateful to ArtsForward for the opportunity to make this happen, and I feel blessed to be in the place I am at the time that I am. I'm not overlooking that Akron has plenty of challenges and pain, but I also believe that the art we have, the talented people we have, the good we have here, when harnessed, can also heal and meet those challenges.
Peace in 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment