When Steven Ratiner, our poet in residence, visited our classroom on Friday, he started the session with a lesson about the art of revision. He talked about how it is important to choose images for yourpoem carefully so the reader can see the story in their mind. The title is important too and opens the door for the poem to come through. Steven himself, revises his own poems an average of 25 times. Through revision, a poet works until he/she owns all the words line by line, word by word, and image by image. For me, this really points out how a handwritten draft is becoming a lost art.
The children then shared some of their first poems with Steven. As each poem was read, Steven listened carefully and offered feedback without giving the children words to use.
Next Steven showed a beautiful hand painted scroll and demonstrated how it can take your
mind on a journey. He also shared a 100 year old hand carved wooden brush pot from China so intricately carved with a scene from nature, it looks like you can reach inside and touch the trees.
For today’s lesson, each child had brought from home a special object that hold memories for them such as a baseball, trophy, shell, or stone. A museum of objects was created in the classroom which the children toured until they found one, perhaps their own, that could take their mind on a journey “Use these objects to harness the power of your imagination,” Steven told the class. “When you feel ready, begin to writeyour poem. Show all steps in the journey and make your images sharp and clear. Take this journey and you may even learn a new secret about yourself.” With that, the children sat down and wrote. The results are amazing. We will soon be sharing them with you.
The workshop was pretty incredible. The poet really had the kids open their imaginations wide. As a participant in the workshop, I was amazed at how Steven inspired the kids, and myself. Going into the workshop, although I had an idea for a topic for my poem, I never would have guessed the direction that my poem would take. What a wonderful opportunity for the kids to be so creative, imaginative, thoughtful, and reflective with their words.