Michelle Holland informed me that there is to be a slam at the upcoming Espanola Festival– July 12th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Cities of Gold tent!

Contact me or Michelle if you are interested!

Ms. H / Julie

Lucas invited a brilliant woman, Janet Hobson, to join us at poetry club last Wednesday (2-27-08).  After some discussion it was decided that she would attend four more club meetings and would provide us with a sort of mini-class in writing poetry from her experience.

The assignment for March 5th was to write a poem in someone elses’s voice, from someone else’s point of view [often referred to as "persona" poems].  She asked that we make enough copies of our poems that we could give each member a copy to read while we discuss them.

Not quite everyone wrote a persona poem. Even among those who did, no one had made copies for others–I guess we didn’t hear that request or forgot it.  A few were shared and we discussed intended audience and we discussed titles.

For March 12th she has asked that we revise our poems, creating a second draft, and that we be sure to have copies for all.  If you would like me to make copies of your poem for you, you can give the poem to me any time before 6th period on that Wednesday, and I will copy it for you.  I estimate that 10-15 copies should be plenty.

Here’s a brief version of the syllabus she provided to us:

March 5: Introduction. Discussion: how can poets help each other? what is “workshopping” a poem? goals and objectives; pros and cons of group work. Share poems.

March 12: Share revised poems. Discussion: how to ask for help; evolving with the poem.

[March 19: Mrs. Hobson is unavailable]

March 26: Share refined/polished poems. Discussion: how can peers help with fine-tuning? offering useful praise.

[April 2: We are on Spring Break]

[April 9: Mrs. Hobson is unavailable?]

April 16: Rehearsal and Performance techniques–what works best with dramatic monologues? How to inhabit and project a character. Group reading (5:00-6:00?)

REMEMBER: As always, things change! So this schedule may not be followed completely.  This is especially a concern after spring break since we have our performance of April 25th to be working toward.  However, these dramatic monologues/persona poems are also strong options for that performance.  Keep in mind that YOU need to be working to memorize (or almost memorize) the poem(s) that you plan to perform or those poems which you want to use at club meetings to become more comfortable with sharing/performing/speaking, even if you don’t actually plan to perform (this time ). Practicing speaking your writing aloud, sharing it with others in your own voice, and finding your strength behind that voice are powerful, positive, and self-affirming activities.  For ALL of you, I want the benefits which I know can come from doing these things.

Above all else as a teacher, I hope to help students know themselves, to find their passions and purposes, and to learn how to believe in their own strength as they face the world.  If I can even provide you with a glimpse of these things, a hint of their existence, then I have done for you what I so profoundly needed someone to do for me when I was young.

All are encouraged to attend the slam competition, open mic, and group poem showcase in Espanola on Friday, February 29th.

The SFHS poetry performance originally scheduled for February 29th, has been moved to April 25th, 7:00pm, still to take place at the SFHS theater.

 The club decided that they want to go together (as many as possible) to the Green Palace for open mic night on Wednesday, March 12, following the poetry club meeting.  The hope is that members can at least perform the poems that they plan to perform on April 25th.  If you want to go but need a ride, talk to some of the other members to arrange a carpool situation.

The school board meeting on April 1st does not seem like it’s going to allow for a presentation from the poetry club members.  Stay tuned for updates on that topic–especially if we are able to rechedule.

Saturday, April 19th, is the date for the NM State Invitational Poetry SLAM competition in Taos. (more info to follow)

Do you care about the health and well-being of the Poets in the Schools program?

Do you want to see youth poetry in Santa Fe not only survive, but also live, breathe, and grow?

The date of the meeting we’ll be at is still tentative, but we are hoping to be on the agenda for the April 1st meeting of the Santa Fe Board of Education.  The meeting will be held at the Educational Services Center which is located at 610 Alta Vista Street; board meetings begin at 4:30 pm.

Whether it’s on April 1st or another date, here’s our plan:  Poets from SFHS’s poetry club will speak and share some of their work. Depending on the time allowed and what we decide we want to be our focus, professional poets from New Mexico Culture Net’s PITS program may also share, and I or another teacher could take a minute or two of the board’s time, as well. 

If you have ideas about what to say and how to say it, be sure that you voice those things to me here or in person. 

 I’m hoping that everyone in our poetic community that is available that afternoon will be in attendance, regardless of whether you are speaking to the board or not.

OK all you creative-poetic types, now’s the time to focus on some organization and planning.

We have reserved the SFHS theater for Friday, February 29th for a show to begin at 7:00pm.  We will be reading and performing our own original poems for an audience of friends, family members and special guests.

At the Jan. 30 club meeting we were inspired by Gil Scott-Heron (“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”) and by our very own Manuel Gonzales.  We began writing our own revolutionary poems.  It seemed like we all tapped into our inner muses and composed some fantastic images, lines, thoughts.  We are considering using this revolution idea as a thematic focus for our show and/or to take our favorite lines from our own poems to join with lines from everyone elses poems to create a group poem.

Manuel also gave us a homework assignment:

• choose three of your best/favorite poems (written by you, yourself)
• type them up and print out at least one copy (two copies would be better)
• bring them with you to the next poetry club meeting
• we will begin practicing how to read/perform these poems [even if you don't plan on performing with us on the 29th, it's a good idea to become comfortable with reading your work well]

On Wednesday, Feb. 27, after poetry club everyone who can is encouraged to go to The Green Palace where there is a routine Open-Mike night every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm (I think Lucas said 6…he said right after poetry club…).  That can be a sort of “dress rehersal” for us.  Of course, I would encourage you all to attend such things as often as you can and to participate as much as possible, too.

Show up! Stand up! Speak up!

Start preparing for a show in the SFHS theater, on Friday, February 29, at 7:00pm!

We, SFHS student poets (and maybe the sponsors–we did last year), will be reading, sharing, and/or performing our original poetry LIVE and IN-PERSON!!

No matter what kind of  poetry you write, sharing it in your own voice can be a powerful experience!  And if you can’t stomach the idea of speaking in front of a group of people, then you can be there to help out in other ways and to support those who are performing, and you’ll be able to get a feel for this sort of thing–who knows, maybe you’ll want to do the next one.

In the interest of trying to stay focused on ideas and inspiration, I want to recommend that each poetry club member find a poem which inspires you or intrigues you. Bring a copy of it with you to club meetings.  We can share those poems and discuss what we like about them, why the “work,” and even use them as patterns/forms to immitate or whatever.

Check out the New Mexico Culture Net web site and the sub-site for Poets in the Schools.  Student poems are posted there along with other useful stuff.

www.nmculturenet.org  

http://www.nmculturenet.org/poetry/poets-in-the-schools/

 Since NMCN and PITS support us, we should support them, too!!  If funding comes through, that is also where the online “web slam” will be this spring.  You should check out past years’ writing for the web slam.  It’s pretty amazing stuff!

(Plus, Carmelita and I are both NMCN board members now…we gotta support the community!)

I thought I’d offer a link to the article that was written about Carmelita  (and poetry club…sort of) last year.

http://www.keymagonline.com/key-magazine/academics/the-empress-of-poetry

If you just had that thought, you might want to know that for any comment/addition, you need to provide your email and name. After you submit your comment or poem or whatever, I will receive an email. Then I have to read what you’ve written and approve it.  I’ve set things up so that any comments after that first one should be automatically approved (unless I have to blacklist you for some reason…let’s not be stupid!).

In other words, before a comment appears:

• Comment author must fill out name and e-mail
• Comment author must have a previously approved comment