POETRY

Poetry 101

Welcome to Poetry. I am so honored to be your teacher and to guide you through this wonderful class that immerses you in poetry and offers you a lot of opportunities to write, reflect, and build connections with the world around you. I am so excited about the community we are going to create together and about your opportunities to grow as poets and poetry lovers. I cannot wait to get to know you.

I want you to know that your words and your writing are your power, your voice, and your legacy. What you say matters and how you say it is important. In this class we will honor your words and this words of your classmates. You will be participating in a trimester long service project that focusses on spreading joy through poetry. There will be lots of options on how to make this happen and ultimate you will be in charge of what you create.

Let's grow as readers, writers, and thinkers together. Let's make a difference in this world we live in. Let's spread joy through poetry.

Breakdown of a typical week in poetry class (after our first week):

Mondays:

Find a poem you like days
Service project work days

Tuesday-Wednesdays:

Teaching days
Introduction to a genre of poetry
Shared analysis of poems

Thursdays

Writing days: class will often start with a warm up and then proceed into time for you to write you own orginal poems
You can also use this time as professional time to workshop poems with your table group
Your poem of the week will be due on Sunday nights

Fridays:

Poetry slam/ coffee house/ class feedback days
Bring a poem to share (yours or another person's) and get acolades, feedback, or advice
I encourage you to bring snacks to share on these days as well

A little about me: I have been teaching for 26 years. I grew up in Toledo Ohio, home of the Jeep Wrangler and possibly, one of the best art museums on the planet. I speak with an NW Ohio/ SE Michigan accent. I have been married for 21 years to my husband who grew up in my same hometown. I love animals (especially dogs), football, fitness, and all things artsy and creative. I taught yoga and fitness classes for over 20 years (stopping when the pandemic closed some of my favorite studios closed). I am very close to my family and extended family and travel "home" to Ohio as often as I can. I have been a vegetarian for 31 years and love vegetarian food. I love to be outside and I love to go on adventures. I also teach photography, journalism, yearbook, film studies, English 10, and poetry/creative writing.

Great Resources for finding Poetry:

PoetryFoundation.org