When I first started having my high school students participate in Poem in Your Pocket Day, they thought I was nuts. Carry a poem around in my pocket for a day? What? Take it home and read it to people? What? Have them sign the back of the poem? What? Continue reading “It’s In Your Pocket!”
Tag: poetry
Gourd Seed Words on Rocks
Poetry-Finder
I am a thing-finder. I am a word-finder. I am a paper-finder. I cannot walk past something handwritten on a scrap of paper that is lying on the sidewalk or in the ditch or on the seat on the bus. I can’t remember not being a thing-finder. In things, I find poetry. Continue reading “Poetry-Finder”
Object Transformation
When I was teaching high school English, I spent the month of April on poetry. Yes, the state was going berserk doing tests, TESTS, T E S T S but in between all that nonsense, it was the perfect time for poetry. (And it’s National Poetry Month, after all). If you have made a space for poetry in your classroom, meaning that your students know it is okay to experiment with words, to break rules, to have fun with the language, then give them a break with something like this: Continue reading “Object Transformation”
Poetry Post Office
NOTE: The following was written and given to me after our festival. If you attended and would also like to make a comment, please reply in the Comments below.
My favorite part of the ROMP Poetry Festival was the letters that had the names of different authors on the envelope. I picked out James Wright and the poem inside was called “Beginning.” I really loved this poem instantly and found myself thinking that I needed to find a book of poems by James Wright. Continue reading “Poetry Post Office”
A Garish Setting Forth
One of the definitions for “parade” comes from the Italian “parate,” meaning a” garish setting forth.” When I decided we would have a poetry parade at our first ROMP Poetry Festival, I had no idea what that would look like. I just knew that a parade would be a great way to honor April being National Poetry Month. With the help of all the willing and able poetic participants, we made a great and garish setting forth across the meadow that was the highlight of the Festival. Continue reading “A Garish Setting Forth”
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry 