We are
experiencing a renaissance in poetry with greater interest in poets, poetry
books, poetry jams and slams, poetry websites, National Poetry Month, and more.
Why? What does poetry do for us? Cullinan, Scala, and Schroder (1995) remind us
that “poetry is a shorthand for beauty; its words can cause us to tremble, to
shout for joy, to weep, to dance, to shudder or to laugh out loud.” In
particular, young people respond immediately to the humor and relevance of
contemporary poetry. They enjoy the obvious slapstick laugh, as well as dark
and twisted humor, witty wordplay, playful puns, and everything in between. In
fact, you’ll find Shel Silverstein’s landmark books, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and Falling Up, in
the top 100 best-selling children’s books of all time. Plus, early studies of children’s poetry preferences found
humorous poetry at the top of the list. Medical research shows us that laughter has many positive
physiological and psychological effects on us—reducing stress, increasing
infection-fighting antibodies, improving blood flow, and enhancing wellness,
relaxation, mood, and positive outlook. We can all benefit from the leaven of
laughter through poetry.
But poetry
also offers students deeply felt emotions, powerful personal experiences, and
nuggets of hope and belief. Poet Margarita
Engle writes, “I
am haunted by stories about people who make hopeful decisions in situations
that seem hopeless” and poet Joyce Sidman notes that poetry offers “the
chance to ease the heart.” These poets and others speak of their lives, of their humanity, of their
humor. Students of all cultural backgrounds deserve to know their names and
hear their words. Research commissioned through the Poetry Foundation noted
that most poetry readers (80%) first
encounter poetry as children, at home or in school. We can help students establish a
pattern of connecting poetry with their lives and internalizing poems through
genuine poetry talk. In her seminal
work, The Reader, The Text, The Poem (1994), Louise Rosenblatt underscored that
multidimensional nature of the
reading process. As Michelle Obama,
an avid poetry lover, reminds us, “Think about how you feel when you read a poem
that really speaks to you… and you feel understood, right? I know I do. You
feel less alone. I know I do. You realize despite all our differences, there
are so many human experiences and emotions that we share. . . And even if you
don't grow up to be a professional poet, I promise that what you learn through
reading and writing poetry will stay with you throughout your life.”
I hope to share more info AFTER our presentation, but meanwhile, here are some nuggets from my part. (And if you're at the conference and can join us, we're in Rooms 120-121 at the Convention Center.)
Janet and I always like to give things away at our sessions, so this time we've made our own magnetic poetry kits. (We'll also have Laffy Taffy [= humor] and sunflower seeds [= hope]!) Here's the lowdown on our DIY poetry kits:
Obviously, Allan Wolf and Chris Harris and Janet will have much more to add and I look forward to learning from them too! More to come...
Now head on over to Rain City Librarian, where Jane is gathering the Poetry Friday crowd!
Thanks, Sylvia. It's been a little harder to laugh lately, so thank you for the reminder that it is so, so important and that poetry can bring laughter, hope, and connection.
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