Tuesday Treats: Student Poetry Readings Present and Future

Yesterday, in the midst of various types of job drudgery, I got a treat that reminds me of why the rest of it matters.  I got to go to a colleague's last day of a poetry creative writing class.  The students read their poems--what talent.

I was also impressed by the wide variety of inspiration.  My colleague has created the most interesting field trips.  The students have gone to a Riverfront park that's the site of the first settlement of Ft. Lauderdale, a graveyard, a trolley ride, a huge bridge over the Intracoastal, the Museum of Art-Ft. Lauderdale, and the beach.  Each field trip was linked with a kind of poem.  The students always had the option to write free verse.

We talked about career trajectories for poets, which included poetry readings.  I said that I had planned to start a sort of open mic poetry reading at school at some point.  We talked about how neat it would be to have a Halloween event.

After the class was over, I checked with the librarian, since our library is a great spot for a reading, and there aren't many spots on our small campus.  She was enthusiastic, and we scheduled the event for Wednesday, October 28, from 5-6, as the day darkens into night.  Students can read one spooky poem until everyone has had a turn.  There will be treats and maybe costumes.

My colleague was able to tell her poetry students that a reading had been scheduled.  We were able to get our event onto the October calendar. 

There are many challenges to being part of a small school--there's never enough money in the budget, for one thing.  But there are advantages:  when we have an idea, we can move quickly. 

It doesn't always work that way, but it's sweet when it does.