For Week 3 of Imagination Academy, we shifted our focus to poetry. The week kicked off with Jane LeCroy, a New York based poet, singer, teacher and performance artist. According to Jane, poetry is ”Something that takes a while to understand. Once you first read it through, you can’t at first decipher what the author is trying to say. But that’s what makes poetry so much fun. There are no rules.”
After reading “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson the group wrote poems about seeing old things in new ways. They also wrote “mask” poems, becoming something or someone else, inspired by “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana Gioia.
Rulers of the Tracks Above and Below (inspired by “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson")
A Pencil point;
a closed break, an express
C Gaping mouth
from the side; a local
J An upside down
frown; an express
Z A twisted spork;
the best letter; a local
R Legs with just
a head; express
M Goes on forever
from Manhattan to Queens
-Zora
Mirror
The morning brings faces
Pimples, eyelashes, makeup and hair
White fog smudges from the little ones
Yelling from the teens
The pungent smell of perfume
And the airy presence of powder
The ting of tweezers and the buzz of
razors and the white teeth from dentist visits
The alarm clocks, the whines, the
surprises, the weird, the flies,
The pets and the whistles
The smells aren’t the best the
sounds rather loud but
Imagine if you were a cloud!
-Maggie
John Grandits taught the group about concrete poetry. After seeing some of John’s work (including 3D poetry!) and a Q&A session, the group created their own spiral poems using paper plates.
I got swallowed by a tornado. My mother was not pleased.
It was like a rollercoaster and I liked it indeed.
I saw some funny things up there. Here is
what I saw. A grown man in his underwear,
sleeping with a teddy bear! I saw a man welding a
bicycle to a pole. And several dishes
went down the commode. My little brother
said it really wasn’t fair.
And I replied I really don’t
care. I really don’t care!
I REALLY DON’T
CARE!
Vincent Toro, our final poet, asked the young writers to define poetry. After reading “Poetry should ride the bus” by Ruth Foreman, the group brainstormed new lines about what poetry should do. They combined their ideas and came up with a poem of their own!
Poetry Should… (Written by Imagination Academy’s Young Writers)
Poetry should be the kindergarten teacher
who gets their students into the best universities
Poetry should swim in a pool of words and rhymes
Poetry should slip into your dreams
so that when you wake up you have the answer
Poetry should go everywhere
but the garbage can
Poetry should do gymnastics
Poetry should chew watermelon bubblegum
Poetry should sculpt a clay pot
Poetry should be a pastor in a church
speaking so strong, so loud
Poetry should shine with an ethereal
luminescence Poetry should be a teacher
Poetry should fly around and save the day
Poetry should score the winning goal
in soccer Poetry should dance to Jazz
Poetry should conquer
On Friday, under Jackie's guidance, the group wrote more concrete poems.
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They also wrote acrostic poems.
Chewy or chocolate!
A food for children
Need sugar rush!
Divine and delicious
Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!
-Sydney
It’s amazing that next week, Graphic Novels and Illustration, will be our final session for 2014!