On Steven Ratiner’s third classroom visit, he started the lesson by talking with the children about the art of revision.
He shared his personal poetry notebook and showed how he revises again and again, always in search of the perfect words to capture images. Through revision, a poet works until he/she owns all of the words line by line, rhythm by rhythm, and silence by silence.
Today’s lesson was on poetry from the Song (Sung) Dynasty where man’s interaction with nature was important. A scroll was displayed giving a detailed glimpse of the artist’s world. The class discussed the three perfections according to ancient Chinese scholars: painting, calligraphy, and poetry. People in ancient China even attended snow parties for inspiration to write poems, and wrote their own lyrics in poetic form to familiar folk songs.
“Find one treasure in your life. If you pick one moment from your memory and write about it, it’s one you’ll never forget,” Steven told the class. After listening to the crisp clear sound of Tibetan prayer bells, each child wrote their own poem about a special moment in their life.
