Jeremy performing original poetry

When I first learned what similes and metaphors were, I was the most precocious 10-year-old in my 5^th grade English teacher’s classroom. “The sunflower,” my teacher explained, “shines like the sun. That’s a simile.” Not bad for an introductory poetry lesson. But, of course, being that I was a smug, conceited brat at the time, my reaction was, ‘This is so obvious’.

So everything I experienced during the rest of that school year was a more obscure sunflower simile waiting to be written. Oswald pedaled across the screen while I was flipping through channels — ‘The sunflower is like an octopus bike.’ My friend Justin got picked first for our kickball tourney — ‘The sunflower is like a world-class athlete.’

If you don’t get it, don’t worry. No one else did either. Trying to share my fifth grade pieces with people taught me my first harsh lesson in poetry: there are ideas that can be envisioned – things that can be seen, felt, and experienced – which simply won’t translate well to written language. And since I couldn’t translate my ideas to others, they were worth nothing to anyone but myself.

Jeremy with past members Ebonne and Jordan, and Meta-Four coach “Outspoken Bean”

A while after elementary school, I got involved in theatre. Through it, I found a living, working example of a simile: Acting is like the poetry of the body. It’s like being the physical translation of a thoroughly researched work. I loved to get on stage and be the medium through which a playwright could express his vision. However, the things I did not enjoy about theatre were certain types of critic I’d meet after my performances. Those who had read the source material beforehand. Those who were expecting a different translation than the one I created on stage. Those who deemed that there was only one possible way to interpret the character I was playing – and that I was doing it wrong.

Though I still love both theatre and written poetry and continue to do both to this day, my favorite form of artistry is now spoken word. When I discovered it, I found the best of both worlds. A spoken word is a piece of written poetry that a poet performs on stage with his or her voice, hand gestures, and body movements. Spoken word allows poets to truly convey their words. It goes beyond the limits of letters and punctuation marks by allowing the poet to be both the author and the translator of his or her work – to literally transcend language. Spoken word also gives performers an avenue to create rather than to simply interpret. What you perform on a spoken word stage is your own – and no one else can tell you that you are doing it the wrong way.

Many who are somewhat familiar with spoken word feel that it hampers the two art-forms it brings together. They believe that putting performance and poetry together will always cause one aspect of the piece to suffer.  But in my experience, I’ve found that the opposite is actually true. Practicing spoken word has caused me to become better at both acting and writing. It’s forced me to dig deeper into my language-filled mind as a performer, while pushing me outside of my language-bound mind as a poet. And most importantly, it’s allowed me to share my ideas with others more effectively than any other method of communication I’ve ever used.

by Jeremy, Meta-Four Houston intern

Writers in the schools offers free spoken word workshops at 4 different locations this Spring 2013.

by Omar, 2nd grade

Illustration by Patrick Moberg

By WITS Writer Harriet Riley

For the last few years, I’ve used a powerful tool called The Matrix during one of my first writing classes with students of all ages. This came from a workshop Community Word Project of New York provided for WITS writers a few years ago. This tool allows students to create new ways of using language and encourages them to “think outside the box” in different ways.After briefly discussing the structure of a poem, I read my students “Praise Song for the Day,” Elizabeth Alexander’s beautiful poem written for Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration. The poem asks, “What if the mightiest word is love?” First, we have a group “word storm” coming up with words relating to love, texture words and action words. Then, students use their “matrix” (a sheet with a large box with 12 squares inside) to randomly write down two texture words, five words they like the sound of and five words they like the meaning of. They are then instructed to transform words from their matrix into a poetic sentence. I read them guidelines, but the most important is to combine word pairs to create new and different meanings. 

The students each create one poetic sentence and then work with the other students at their table or grouping to combine their lines into stanzas. Then each group performs their stanza to create one combined class poem on love. I videotape their performance and share it with them at the next class.

Here are some of the amazing lines the students created:

Love is peace flowing in the air.
Love is freedom; it will run down a road of fire and reach your sweet heart.
Love is like a diamond in a firework sky.
Love is a courageous intelligent sparkle in my sister’s eye.

Love indeed becomes a life-enhancing proclamation when students try combining words in unusual ways.

If I lived in the forest, I would see turtles
and smell the flowers.
I would be a bird and fly away,
and would climb trees so high…
I would even jump in the water
with the turtles,
and give them food,
and they’d better not bite my fingers
or I would scream!
If I lived in the forest, I would touch
the mushrooms and they would be soft.
I would be a bird and make bird sounds.

by Mackenzie, 3rd grade

Writers in the Schools has partnered with the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center since 2002 to engage urban youth with their environment, exposing and educating students on the natural world.

Within the first 20 minutes of open registration, over 100 students enrolled in Creative Writing Camp, a WITS record! Though it comes as no surprise – with our 8 campuses, 70 classrooms, and now 23 years of camp – that parents and kids look to Creative Writing Camp as a staple of their summer plans. Enroll now and find out why Houston Press described the workshops as the “best effort to inject culture into Houston” and AOL City’s Best listed it among Houston’s 6 Best Summer Camps for Kids.

About Creative Writing Camp

Creative Writing Camp offers a supportive environment where children engage in writing stories, poetry, essays, and plays, as well as simply reading for pleasure. Through these activities even the most hesitant child discovers the joy in writing, the intrigue of language, and the confidence of authorship. Students will work with teachers and writers, and the low teacher-student ratios ensure individual attention. Workshops end with a culminating performance and/or reading, and each child will receive an anthology with their published work.

A Collaboration

The Summer Creative Writing Workshops are offered by Writers in the Schools in collaboration with Rice University’s School Literacy and Culture Project (SLC).

Check out the 2012 Camp Highlights:

2012 Creative Writing Camp Highlights from Writers in the Schools on Vimeo.

Join Writing & C/Siting Houston for an event featuring WITS founder Philip Lopate, WITS Writer Miah Arnold, and great friend of WITS, Bill Monroe, as they share stories about the special places that make the Bayou City unique.

When: Wednesday, February 6^th at 7:00 pm

Where: University of Houston Honors Commons (212 MD Anderson Library)

More about the readers:

Phillip Lopate has written three personal essay collections – Bachelorhood (Little, Brown, 1981), Against Joie de Vivre (Poseidon-Simon & Schuster, 1989) and Portrait of My Body (Doubleday-Anchor, 1996); two novels, Confessions of Summer (Doubleday, 1979) and The Rug Merchant (Viking, 1987); a pair of novellas; three poetry collections, The Eyes Don’t Always Want to Stay Open (Sun Press, 1972), The Daily Round (Sun Press, 1976) and At the End of the Day (Marsh Hawk Press, 2010); and a memoir of his teaching experiences, Being With Children (Doubleday, 1975).

Miah Arnold is the author of Sweet Land of Bigamy, and a number of short pieces of literature. Her essay “You Owe Me” will appear in Best American Essays 2012. She earned a Ph.D. in writing and literature at the University of Houston. She teaches adults and children throughout Houston in University and nonprofit settings. She has served as a fiction editor at Gulf Coast and a poetry editor at Lyric Poetry Review. Her work has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Nanofiction, Confrontation, Painted Bride Quarterly, and the South Dakota Review. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two children.

William Monroe is professor of English and Dean of the Honors College at the University of Houston. His book Power to Hurt: The Virtues of Alienation was selected as an outstanding academic book of the year by Choice magazine and nominated for the Phi Beta Kappa/Christian Gauss Award. His other publications include the play Primary Care, which deals with personhood issues related to Alzheimer’s Disease, and articles on T.S. Eliot, Vladimir Nabokov, and Willa Cather. He is currently at work on The Vocation of Affliction: Flannery O’Connor and American Mastery.

About Writing & C/Siting Houston: Writing & C/Siting Houston is a collaboration among Houston Arts Alliance Folklife + Traditional Arts Program, the Cultural Enrichment Center at the University of Houston-Downtown, and Houston Folklore Archive of the University of Houston and has been funded in part with support from the Texas Commission on the Arts, Humanities Texas, National Endowment for the Arts, and Houston Endowment Inc.

Click here for more information

I believe in the pink, fresh flowers
That grow slowly in a garden.
I believe in the aroma of the strawberry, sweet perfume
That flows through the air.
I believe in the soft rain
That falls from the clouds to the ground.
I believe in the slippery black and white penguin
That plays with me.
I believe in the sour, yellow lemon with salt
That I adore.
I believe that one day I will see all of nature
That I am missing.
I believe in me.

by Julieta, 3rd grade

In partnership with Aurora Picture Show’s Media Arts Instructors Felisa Prieto and Camilo Gonzalez, students at KIPP Academy created short films from poems written in their WITS program with writer Autumn Hayes. Aurora was brought in to collaborate on creating stop-motion animation films from these poems. Enjoy!

Artist John Ross Palmer says, “We fell in love with WITS and their team from the get-go.  They are 100% committed and enthusiastic about their work–just like me!  Look forward to our events that support WITS this year–both our cherished art collectors and their patrons should be ready to be wowed!”

As John Palmer Art’s 2013 Charity of the Year, WITS will be specifically honored at the following events at the John Palmer Art Gallery & Studio: Official Charity of the Year Launch Party on April 6th, The Afternoon & Evening of Escapism on October 19th and an Official  Fundraising Party for WITS (Date to be Determined). Visit johnpalmerart.com for more information about John and his incredible work.

Credit: khou.com

I am outside looking at the snow falling, and I hear the wind blowing the trees.
I am outside smelling the hot chocolate and hearing the birds.
I am walking and looking at the animals outside.
Children are playing and people are saving the plants.
I am looking at my family playing.

by Jorge, 3rd grade

Elizabeth’s thoughts on WITS: 

All the stories I’ve ever read have stayed with me. They fill my tool box. I’ve read screwy stories, and ones that hammered things home. Sometimes, a certain story was the only thing that could spackle a crack in my life.

WITS is the Home Depot of story-tools. They are aisle after aisle of improved thought, humor, creativity, and hope. My goal is to hand out wrenches and saws to the next generation of thinkers. To teach them to look at problems, and instead of panic, draw on their writing and reading to see them through.

Elizabeth was influenced by Half Magic written by Edward Eager: 

“The children generally divided grown ups into four classes. There were ones like Miss Bick and Uncle Edwin… who–frankly, and cruel as it might be to say it–just weren’t good with children at all…

“Then there were ones like Miss Mamie King who–when they were with children–always seemed to want to pretend that they were children too…

“Somewhat better were the opposite ones who went around treating children as though they were as grown-up. This was flattering, but sometimes a strain to live up to.

“Last and best and rarest of all were the ones who seemed to feel that children were children and grown-ups were grown-ups… and there wasn’t any reason why they couldn’t get along perfectly well and even occasionally communicate, without changing that fact.

Mr. Smith turned out to be one of these.”

You can read a poem by Delicia here.

Delicia’s thoughts on working at WITS: 

Poetry is limitless. I hope to spread the beauty of its craft, highlight the trailblazing poets who strived to give it wings, and encourage the students participating in Writers in the Schools to own their place in its universe.

Delicia was greatly influenced by:  I Wish I had Duck Feet by Theo. LeSieg:

Say!

I know what!

I wish I had

two horns up on my head!

I wish I had two deer horns.

They would be a lot of fun.

Then I could wear

ten hats up there!

Big Bill can just wear one.

I think they would

be very good

to have when I play ball.

Then nobody could stop me.

No, sir! Nobody at all!

My horns could carry

Books and stuff

Like paper, pens and strings

and apples for my teacher

and a lot of other things!

BUT…

If I had big deer horns,

I would never

get a ride.

I could never ride the school bus.

I could never get inside!

………………………………………………………….etc

……………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………

AND SO…

I think there are some things

I do not wish to be.

And that is why

I think that I

just wish to be like ME.

All Houston area youth ages 13-18 are invited to participate in the city’s first poetic choir. Come out tonight to Hope Stone Studio (1210 West Clay Street) 7-9pm for more information-its not too late to join! All participating students will perform at the Wortham Center Feb. 22. A special thank you to the Society of Performing Arts and Houston Public Library for making this all possible. Here is the calendar for the One Voice Poetic Choir:

January 11 (Fri)  

“One Voice Poetic Choir” Practice @ Hope Stone 7-9pm

January 25 (Fri)

Meta-Fourth Friday @ Jones Hall 6-7:30pm practice (8pm STOMP show time, students will be seated by 7:50) Food will be provided

February 16 (Sat)

“One Voice Poetic Choir” Run-through @ TBD location 10am-12pm

February 22 (Fri)

Meta-Fourth Friday “One Voice Poetic Choir” Performance @ Wortham Center arrive at 6pm, performance at 7pm (Food will be provided)

WITS Alliance Schedule of Events
AWP 2013: Boston
Hynes Convention Center

All events take place in the Hynes Convention Center unless otherwise noted.
 

WITS Alliance Booth: 210

Wednesday, March 6

WITS Day of Service hosted by WriteBoston
12:00 noon -4:00 p.m.

WITS Alliance Membership Meeting
Room 209, Level 2
4:30-5:45 p.m.

Thursday, March 7

WITS Writers on Teaching: A Reading

Lacy M. Johnson, Giuseppe Taurino, Miah Arnold, Stacy Parker Le Melle, Nicole Zaza
Related Panel
Room 102, Plaza Level
10:30-11:45 a.m.

This reading by new, veteran, and former WITS teachers will explore what it really means to be agents of the WITS mission—to engage children in the power of the written word, to nurture imaginations, and to awaken young minds to the adventures of language. Readers will discuss how WITS teaching can sometimes be at least as revolutionary for teachers as for their students, even having potentially life-altering effects on teaching, writing, and overall worldview.

A Reading from Writers in the Schools [WITS Alliance]

Alise Alousi, Bao-Long Chu, Michael Dickman, Tim Seibles
Room 201, Level 2
1:30-2:45 p.m.

Four poets will share work by young students as well as their own work. They will discuss the ways in which their work with school children has affected their own writing. Two of the poets will have participated in the AWP WITS Day of Service and will tell about that. Students from the Day of Service project will be invited to the event.

Rowing Your Boat across the Curriculum [WITS Alliance]
Amy Swauger, Sarah Dohrmann, Margaret Dougherty-Goodburn, Mary Rechner, Terry Ann Thaxton
Room 102, Plaza Level
4:30-5:45 p.m.
 

From lyrics on the nesting habits of eagles to odes to the ozone layer, teachers are incorporating creative writing projects in science, math, and social studies curricula. From kindergarten to college, instructors are being asked to merge the disciplines. In this session, panelists will share strategies to engage students in creative writing across the curriculum.

WITS Alliance Reception

Room 303
7:00-8:15 p.m.

Friday, March 8

Founder’s Toolkit: How to Start a Non- Profit in Your Own Backyard [WITS Alliance]
Long Chu, Allen Gee, Janet Hurley, Lisa Murphy-Lamb, Jerome Vielman
Room 102, Plaza Level
10:30-11:45 a.m.

If every organization is the lengthened shadow of one person, and if the MFA is the new MBA, then poets and novelists are already equipped with the imaginative drive and divergent thinking necessary to start and operate a successful nonprofit. This panel of founding directors and arts administrators will provide useful information on how to start a literary non-profit. We will guide participants through the process of incorporating one’s passion into a viable project working for public good.

Fundraising with Individuals – Crafting the Story [WITS Alliance]
Jack McBride, Kate Brennan, Lee Briccetti, Michele Kotler
Room 102, Plaza Level
3:00-4:15 p.m.

Non-profits start brainstorm sessions with this phrase: if money were no object. But, money is an object, and not having it is an obstacle. In an economy where revenues and contributions are down, non-profits rely on individual donors. While 70% of all giving comes from individuals, just 5% of donations go to the arts. How do we shape a passion for our work into a message that encourages increased giving? This panel explores ways we craft our stories to win the hearts of individual donors.

Saturday, March 9

Writing to Change the World: Social Justice and Youth Writing Programs [WITS Alliance]
Janet Hurley, Tamiko Ambrose Murray, Glenis Redmond, Christina Shea, Terry Blackhawk
Room 208, Level 2
12:00-1:15 p.m.

Does the endeavor of creative writing intrinsically encourage the subject of social justice and/or nurture the same? Panelists who work with students, elementary through college age, will discuss the art of teaching youth. They will chronicle the ways in which creative writing often triggers or gives space for idealism in students and empowers a sense of agency. What are the teachable moments and what risks are involved?

 
Where in the World is the Writer in Residence? [WITS Alliance]
Cecily Sailer, Alise Alousi, Tina Angelo, Josephine Jones
Room 102, Plaza Level
3:00-4:15 p.m.

Although people might agree poets make the world a better place, poetry is often marginalized to classrooms. What happens when we move the poet from the ivory tower into the real world? What if a poet-in-residence could work in the hospital, museum, theater, or science lab? This panel explores how individuals and arts organizations can enliven and deepen the teaching of creative writing through unlikely collaborations. 

Florence’s thoughts on Writers in the Schools: 

I hope to inspire a group of young writers to actively engage in their unique and legitimate voices. And I hope, in return, they inspire me to do the same with my own work. It is my belief that the act of writing in its organic form can create a myriad of beautiful symbiotic relationships.

One of my favorite books as a child, though I suppose the context was a bit beyond me when I first read it, was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I finally read its original translation, Le Petit Prince in my high school French class, but the words resonate in any language. Particularly:

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Nature Writing at the Houston Arboretum

I have a turtle
And I can see him
But no one else can
He runs fast
As a cheetah
Because he is invisible
He eats candy
For dessert
And fish
For dinner
He feels as bumpy

Nature Writing at the Houston Arboretum

As the street
And smells like the lake
He is slimy
And has a house
That no one can see
In the north
by Giovanni, 2nd grade

Advice from a Butterfly

Fly high and wide in the blue sky.
Always be your beautiful self.
Never give up flying to somewhere hard.
Enjoy your multi-colored wings.
Don’t ever change your colorful wings.
Remember, no two butterflies are the same.
You have to go home because home is where the heart is.
Always think long term.
Sometimes you have to go out on a limb.
Challenge yourself harder every day.
Always be kind to other animals.

by Magnolia, 2nd grade

When it was time to open the presents, everybody did, except me and my dad
because our host didn’t get us any, and his guests didn’t know us. So you might think that I was sad. But here’s the best part of all: a lady at the party gave me a present. She went to her room and came back and gave me a present! I opened the present, and it was a shirt, and it fit, and I thanked her because she gave me a present. I didn’t know her, but she was nice to me. To tell the truth, I prefer a Wii or Xbox game for a gift rather than a shirt. My dad didn’t care about himself. He was happy that I got a present. My dad felt as good as I did. When it was at 12 o’clock, it was time for my dad and me to go. When we got back home, my dad and I went to sleep. The next day I wore the shirt.

By Onasis Rodriguez, 8th Grade

Although it’s been a while since it was written, “The Best Christmas” is still a favorite WITS holiday story. It captures the spirit of generosity and gratitude that comes out in us this time of year. Happy Holidays from the WITS Crew!

The WITS staff at A Celebration of Story 2012

This story was published in You Hear Me? Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys. Edited by Betsy Franco.

Watch the interview here–note, I’m video number 2 so, click Playlist on the bottom left of the screen and switch to 2 to see me.

This interview is a great way to learn more about me personally (Like, did you know I failed high school English … TWICE!?), and why I’m passionate about helping young people navigate this extremely important transition in their lives through writing.

Oh, and Hal and I are funny. I think you’ll enjoy it. If you watch, please share your thoughts here on my page.

photo credit to B. Wise Photography

Pamela’s thoughts on writing and working for Writers in the Schools: 

I started writing when I was 14 and never stopped – I wrote for my high school and college newspapers, wrote in my internships, wrote in my undergraduate and graduate classes, and wrote for newspapers and magazines. What’s amazing about writing is there’s no limit to what you can write about. As soon as the ink dries on one story, I’ve awakened to another fascinating idea that I can’t stop thinking about and crafting a well-written story seems the only way to do it justice.

I hope the students I meet through WITS will come to share my passion for writing as a form of expressing themselves and a way to question themselves and the world around them. I want them to know that there is an incredible freedom in creative writing, without having to formulate one right answer or follow a set pattern, and that ability to think innovatively will help them reach their goals, whatever those may be.

A work that influenced Pamela from an early age: 

“At the end of class, Mr. Bonner gave us our homework: to write about what our own struggles were.

So that night I spent three hours writing about my struggles. When I started, I couldn’t think of any struggles. No struggles! So that was why I wasn’t interesting.

And then I started to think of struggling with moving and figuring out where I was and why my family had sent me away. I wrote about struggling with homesickness and with figuring out who I was. On and on I went. I was full of struggles! And that made me so happy: If I was full of struggles, maybe I was interesting!”

(from Bloomability by Sharon Creech)

Sarah Jerasa

What Sarah hopes to accomplish as a WITS writer:

I love to learn side by side with young writers by writing daily and sharing books and experiences. As a WITS writer I look forward to finding authentic writing experiences for students to be keen observers of the world around them I want to help make an impact for students of all backgrounds and spark a passion for writing in each student I work with.

What inspired Sarah as a kid:

I wasn’t always a big fan of books or reading growing up. I had the toughest time finding stories that were compelling or interesting to read. As a young writer, I had similar challenges of finding inspiring topics to write about. But the first time I read E.L. Konigsburg’s “From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler“, something finally clicked! I was completely pulled into a book for the first time, connecting with these two ordinary siblings who decided to pull off running away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had such a mental movie as a reader and loved how the author was able to create an adventure using just her words! One of my favorite parts of the book was how the main character, Claudia, planned each detail of their escape:

by Phil McAndrew

“Claudia loved the city because it was elegant; it was important; and busy The best place in the world to hide. She studied maps and the Tourguide book of the American Automobile Association and reviewed every field trip her class had ever taken. She made a specialized geography course for herself. There were even some
pamphlets about the museum around the house, which she quietly researched. ”

After reading this book, I too wanted to write about my real and make-believe adventures. I wanted my readers to be completely hooked on my stories and to allow them to feel and experience what my characters would go through.

Menna signing her poem at the Watchful Eye reading at the Menil Collection

With these hands, I will meet a famous person and shake their hand.
With these hands, I will pet cute puppies.
With these hands, I will work hard at my job.
With these hands, I will hug my friends.
With these hands, I will buy furniture for my own house.
With these hands, I will take pictures in New York City.
With these hands, I will talk with my friends using sign language.

by Menna, 5th grade

by Gwyneth, 4th grade