Poetry Is/Is Not
There are 5 neon color sticky notes hanging above my desk. One reminds me to “Find the Poetry.” Some days this acts as a gentle kick in the pants to get moving and write something down. Other times it reminds me that there is poetry all around.
If I notice,
If I wonder,
If I wander,
with open eyes and an open heart,
I will find poetry.
It turns out lots of people have lots of ideas about what poetry is and is not. As a teacher I tried to crack this open for students. I believe poetry can be accessible to readers when other text is not. Poetry can free us as writers when other formats do not. Listening to poetry can create shared emotional experiences that bring us closer to each other, regardless of where we started. Sounds lofty? Ha! Keep reading. Here is a recap of my favorite way to launch a unit of study for reading and writing poetry:
Invite students to share what they know, what they think, how they feel about poetry. I have seen them fill a square with a quick sketch or image, one word, or one paragraph. I have seen the same words appear under both “is” and “is not.” For example, “rhyme” may appear on either side. Similarly, easy or hard to understand usually shows up on multiple notes. This chart sparks discussion.
Read aloud the first 3 pages of Poetry Matters by Ralph Fletcher. He recounts being a college student and giving handwritten poems as gifts to family members. I get goosebumps when the youngest sibling reacts, “There’s something magic in there,”…”There’s poetry in there. Poetry!”
Make a Heart Map. Georgia Heard considers this a way to “explore through writing and drawing what you’ve stored in your heart.” (There is a 2nd edition of Awakening the Heart now available.)