Saturday, December 27, 2014

Found Poetry. Something Fun to Try.

Read here about a great lesson idea, see some examples, and try this poetry form yourself.





Sunday, November 16, 2014

Zyzzyva Interview with Juan Felipe Herrera

This is a great interview! Read about this amazing man, his tenure as a CPitS poet and his tenure as the Poet Laureate of California.

ZYZZYVA: Generally speaking, how does teaching inform and renew your own writing?

Juan Felipe Herrera: Well, my students are brighter than me, and they are more original than me and much quicker of mind—so I am very fortunate to be in their company. I learn a lot. The shape of their poems, for example, their innovative translation approaches, their leaps into international and multicultural poetics … and their ideas.

















Photo by Randy Vaughn-Dotta.

Monday, November 3, 2014

20 Reading Poetry Strategies from The Atlantic

Worth reading. My favorite is #7.

A poem cannot be paraphrased. In fact, a poem’s greatest potential lies in the opposite of paraphrase: ambiguity. Ambiguity is at the center of what is it to be a human being. We really have no idea what’s going to happen from moment to moment, but we have to act as if we do.

You could develop a lesson around this article, if you were clever. Or, just pass out the article and let students discuss.

Charles Baudelaire by Gustave Courbet (Wikimedia Commons)

Friday, October 17, 2014

CPITS 50th Anniversary : What a Celebration!

What a great event, what great friends, what great poems. The 50th anniversary symposium for California Poets in the Schools was well attended and filled with memories and joy. We spent three days together in Petaluma, we listened, we read, we wrote. We danced. 


The setting was gorgeous; warm during the day, cool at night, foggy in the morning.

Read about the event (and about the power of CPITS) in this fine article from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Maureen Hurley is a teacher poet with California Poets in the Schools, a collective of professional poets who bring literary craft into classrooms. This weekend they celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary with a conference at IONS retreat center in Petaluma, but before it began, Hurley took time to introduce the group and explain why and how they take poetry into classrooms. 

Photo of the crazy poets by Maureen Hurley
I drove up with Erica Goss (poet-teacher in training from Los Gatos, and current Los Gatos Poet Laureate) and Amanda Chiado (poet-teacher from Hollister, area coordinator in San Benito County who also teaches in and around San Jose).

My new friend Jessica Wilson Cardenas -- amazing young and fierce poet from LA -- took a whole bunch of fantastic photos of the weekend, and she's generous enough to share them globally on Facebook here. Three of them are to the left here: Erica, Amanda, and me reading during the marathon open mic session on Saturday night.

(My html skills are not good enough to position these photos elegantly, but I hope you can see how much fun we had.)
Kathy Evans addressing the opening night diner honoring so many long-time teachers and supporters.
Al Young, former California Poet Laureate, addressing the group as Key Note Speaker Saturday morning. You can see the State Senate Resolution created for us by Senator Mark Leno's office on the left.
Me and Maureen, before dinner, love in the time of poets.
Me and Maureen, after our photographer had a glass of wine!
Saturday night we were delighted and entertained and mesmerized by the spoken word artistry of Josh Healey. Here I am trying to look as cool as he was.
The view from above our little cabins.
Al Young spinning his tales of poetry and wisdom.

Jennifer and Erica
Jennifer and Amanda







Tuesday, September 30, 2014

De Anza College Open Mic First Thursday is Here and Now

(Courtesy of 4 Elements of Hip Hop organization at De Anza College)

De Anza! Everyone's been gone for a minute having a good summer, and we're gonna start off this quarter with our monthly Open Mics to keep that spirit going! 



Founded by the Black Student Union (BSU), 4 Elements of Hip Hop have since carried on the event to keep the culture moving, we're proud to be part such a great event on campus. 



The Open Mics are open to everyone to showcase their talent, not only within the realm of hip hop, but for everything ranging from comedy, dance (as much as our venue's space permits at least), live instrumentation, and everything in between you can think of.


The Open Mic will take place THIS THURSDAY and we have it go on every First Thursday of the Month. It's located in the Euphrat Museum inside the Visual Performing Arts Center (VPAC). Whether you're a performer or a spectator, the Open Mic is an opportunity for everyone involved to showcase their talent and make connections with others, making it an on-campus anyone can find something in.

Poetry Lesson Plan Book Complete

California Poets in the Schools, in honor of our 50 year anniversary, has published a beautiful book of 50 poetry lessons, Poetry Crossing. Here is the book's editor, Phyllis Meshulam, with one of her students, who has a poem in the book. They presented the book and he read his poetry at the 19th annual Watershed Poetry Festival on Saturday.

The book is in a large page format, with sample poems, lesson step-by-step instructions, and student art. Intended for classroom teachers, each lesson has a page that can be photo copied and passed out to students. I know it will be available for sale, so watch this space for details. I can't wait to get my copy.

CPITS 50th Anniversary Symposium -- Join the Fun

Are you a poet, a poetry teacher, a classroom teacher??

Immerse yourself in an all-day poetry writing adventure and learn new strategies to awaken your own inner writer, and if you're a teacher, learn a new way to foster student imagination and creative language skills in the classroom.

California Poets in the Schools 50th Anniversary Teaching Symposium, Voices of Gold, features 15 interdisciplinary poetry writing workshops with performance, music, art, and yoga options, October 10-12, with a special “Saturday-only” workshop option. The event happens at the idyllic IONS Earthrise Retreat Center in Marin County.

Please contact the San Francisco CPITS office (415) 221-4201 and ask for Tina. You can register by phone, by email, or snail mail. Ask for the special Saturday pass, or Classroom Teacher discounts. This is a neat chance to walk away with ready-to-roll writing lesson ideas for all ages in a fun, restful and supportive atmosphere. We will also debut our first lesson plan book, “Poetry Crossing: 50 Lessons for K-12 Classrooms.” There is also a special local Saturday & Sunday Day Pass commuter option as well.

California Poets in the Schools 50th Anniversary Symposium
Where: IONS Earthrise Institute, Petaluma, CA
When: Oct 10-12th, 2014
To register: CPITS office (415) 221-4201
Tina@cpits.org

I hope to see you there!!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Poets.org Back to School 2014

The Academy of American Poets (of whose new website look I am not a fan -- parse that sentence!) published a great compilation of poems and lessons for Back-to-School. Read and listen here.

Here are some of the poems.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
“Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes
“The Testing-Tree” by Stanley Kunitz
“The Hand” by Mary Ruefle

You can also sign up at this link to receive their monthly Educator Newsletter. (Then you won't need to worry about checking this blog where not much happens!!)

Cheers. And here is a photo, because otherwise this is a boring (yet exciting) post. 

James Baldwin. Who wasn't a poet, but who looks lovely in leaves. And who wrote smart words. And is a roll model for us all about how to be brave. (I found the photo on Facebook so I do not know whom to credit.)


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Five Reasons Why We Need Poetry in Schools | Edutopia

Five Reasons Why We Need Poetry in Schools | Edutopia



Another great article from Edutopia. What are you doing in the schools for Poetry Month? April is Poetry Month! Get your poems on!



Kids Feel the Power of Poetry in Performance | Edutopia

Kids Feel the Power of Poetry in Performance | Edutopia



This link will take you to a great article about spoken word and spoken word poetry -- and the way they can influence high school students and make a difference in lives. 

Monday, March 10, 2014

Silicon Valley Reads Poetry Contest

As part of the county-wide Silicon Valley Reads events, the Cupertino Library is sponsoring its first ever poetry contest. The contest is open in the adult, high school and middle school categories. Read about the entry criteria and how to submit your entries on the Cupertino Poet Laureate website or the Cupertino Library Foundation website.


The deadline to enter is Monday, March 17, so act fast!

Kids' Book Review: Review: Rip the Page!

Karen Benke (this book's author) is a CPitS poet of long standing and poetic breadth. This looks like just a great book. And I am enjoying the blog, KBR, which reviews kids books in a colorful and delightful fashion. Read about it here: Kids' Book Review: Review: Rip the Page!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Kickstarter Project for Amazing Lesson Book

California Poets in the Schools is currently raising money through Kickstarter to publish a lesson book: 50 lessons in celebration of CPitS' 50th anniversary.

Consider a pledge of support!

Or, at least watch the sweet video (click on the link above) -- kids reading their poetry. A real treat.


Friday, January 17, 2014

Santa Clara County New Poet Laureate: David Perez

Santa Clara County has chosen its third poet laureate, David Perez.

You can check out David's own blog "The David Perez" here. He's also got a YouTube channel with several videos of him reading is poetry. A great way to give your students a little extra sensory stimulus if they need that -- videos of poets are a powerful teaching tool.


I expect to have the chance to meet and perhaps even work with David in the next weeks and months. I'll let you know what I think!