Poetry

One aspect of literacy which holds a special spot in my heart is poetry. In high school, I took a number of creative writing classes which helped me to develop an appreciation for this art form like no other.
My studies of different poetry forms, classic and modern poets, and literary devices and techniques which would enhance my own writing abilities, caused me to become obsessed! It was like I had entered a rare and exclusive club, into which only few people had membership. In my opinion, no one else understood the possibilities for self-expression that poetry offered unless they had personally developed a relationship with the art form itself. This love influenced me to become the Chief Editor of my high school's Literary Magazine: Expressions, which won first place in the nation four years in a row. The following is an example of a poem I wrote in high school which was featured in our school's journal:

Fingers effortlessly glide across the once dormant and cold keys
breathing life into the pristine plane of blacks and whites
a perfectly executed symphony
coupled by the soothing velvet harmony of a crooner's voice
he steadily taps his foot, snaps his fingers,
to the collective h e a r t b e a t of the room
the blinded crowd, intoxicated by the fluidity of his liquid poetry
the facade wrapped in a canvas of treble clefs and crescendos
a love-struck audience unable to come close enough to smell the stench of liquor permeating from his palate,
the cigarette smoke nestled within the fibers of his illusion-pressed tuxedo
they're unable to look beneath the carefully tipped hat concealing the bloodshot and tired eyes of a man rotting from booze and nicotine
one who will stumble through the dark alleys mumbling obscenities only one last time
leaving the now warm keys longing to be played by the cold and lifeless body lying in the gutter


Since I have a particular love of poetry, I will certainly aim to instill a similar passion in my future students. The Joy of Children's Literature suggests a number of good ways to do so:

-Read poems aloud to children with energy, passion, and delight.
-Schedule times for poetry reading by groups of children and by individuals who are ready to share. Join in with the children, clapping along, tasting the words. Sing and chant poems aloud and alongside the children, letting the joys of language reach them through the ear and the eye.
-At the classroom listening center, provide recordings of poems on CD or from websites.
(Johnson, 236).