Not Quite

My students and I celebrated Poem in Your Pocket Day safely and at a distance this year. Rather than the usual fun and revelry of everybody reading poetry for a few days before and choosing poems we love, then transcribing and decorating them to carry in our pockets and share throughout the day, this year we posted our selections on our online learning management system, and then read and commented from afar. 

It wasn't the same at all, but it was still poetry and it was still pretty moving. Here are just a few of the poems my students chose, along with part of their explanation why:

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too, by Shel Silverstein, "because it has been a classic to me all my life, I used to have a lot of Shel Silverstein books in my home" 

Sisters by Lucille Clifton "I liked these lines because they represent a strong friendship, and because I hope that can be me and some of my friends." 

The Road Not Traveled by Robert Frost " I think it sends a message that it is ok to be different. To take a different path." 

Veils by Witter Bynner "I also chose this poem because in one of the sentence in this poem it says “And this of a purple moon ”I wish there was a purple moon it would look so pretty." 

Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow "It’s really cool how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow makes the entire poem rhyme and how he tells the story." 

Phenomenal Women by Maya Angelou I think that sometimes people are ashamed for who they are. This poem is the opposite.

Gosh, I miss my class!

A Pocket of their Own

Every year since 2007, I have celebrated National Poem in Your Pocket Day in April with my sixth grade students, but this year we were on spring break when the big day rolled around. We are in the middle of the 100 Day Writing Challenge, though, which in April is a new poetry exercise every day, so I posted the information and asked students to tell us what poem they chose and why, a kind of virtual celebration.

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect, and so when I logged in last Thursday night to check on their progress, I was amazed and humbled by the quality of their choices and the consideration they had given to them. In fact, this group of kids did better than any other so far. Here are a few examples:

I chose the poem Kid, this is October, by Jeffrey Bean. This poem stood out to me by the word choice he uses. I liked when he said “You can swim one more time in the puddle of sun ” because that gives October coming a whole new perspective. This poem reminds me perfectly of how I felt when summer was ending and fall was coming. Finally, I liked this poem because it all flows so smoothly and just makes the poem better.

I chose a short haiku poem about forgetting the sorrows of your past and focusing on the present. This is how the poem goes:

What joy you will find
when you drop the yesterdays
and embrace today

I really like this poem because even though it is short, it has an important meaning that I think is a really good rule to live by. This poem always reminds me that I need to focus on the future and present especially, instead of living in the past. This poem has only three lines so I don’t have my top four lines, although I like that last line that says to embrace today.

I chose Caged Bird by Maya Angelou. I chose this poem because first of all I love Maya Angelou she is a strong female figure and is also black. The other reason I chose this poem is because this has a personal connection to me because this is literally the first poem I ever read, my first thought was the grammar was wrong and I LOVED it.

I chose “You Lose Something Every Day” by Willie Perdomo. The reason why I chose this poem was because at first it didn’t make sense to me but when I read it carefully I noticed that it is true. You do lose something every day even if it isn’t physical with you. I felt like this poem was trying to tell me how we also lose stuff in our mind or how we forget stuff. In this poem, something I also noticed is that each line has two important words. For example,”the finish on your way to the line” the two important words are Finish and Line and if we put it together it spells out finish line. Anyway I enjoyed understanding this poem and I really liked it.

War Within Myself by Daniel K.I chose this poem because "fighting a war within myself" is very common with people today, even me. I was diagnosed with anxiety a couple years ago, which felt like a new war had begun. Walking on eggshells relates to me because I feel like I need to say the right thing, at the right time, or else I mess it all up, which I have before. Tearing friendships apart relate to myself as well because I don't want to mess something up so badly, to the point where a beautiful friendship or relationship has ended. And I have one particular relationship that is so special to me that I don't want to end.

Timely

Today is National Poem in Your Pocket Day, and as always I gave my students time in class to choose a poem yesterday and share that poem today. As usual, they were also required to write a reflection about the experience.

The assignment was straight-forward:

What poem did you choose to carry in your pocket today?
Today's Challenge: Tell us the title and the poet, quote your favorite 4-6 lines and explain why you chose it.

To give them a model, and in the spirit of community, I posted my reflection first:

I chose the poem "How it Begins" by Mary Oliver, and here's why. Last summer, the morning after my dog died, I was listening to "The Writer's Almanac" on the radio, as I do every morning. When it came time for the daily poem, here is what I heard:

Puppies, puppies, puppies 

A puppy is a puppy is a puppy.
She's probably in a basket with a bunch of other puppies.
Then she's a little older and she's nothing
but a bundle of longing.
She doesn't even understand it. 

Then someone picks her up and says
I want this one.

That day, I found those words to be a tremendous comfort after losing my dog, and now that I have a new puppy, they seem even more true.

Cause for Celebration

The day before National Poem-in-your-Pocket-Day is a busy one in my classroom. Students browse through thousands of poems in over a hundred poetry collections to find the perfect opus to carry with them the next day. They are also welcome to revisit all the great writing they have posted to our online poetry challenge and select an original work.

For some reason, these sixth graders were more excited and engaged than any other group I've ever shared the activity with. Can we have more than one? Can we trade with our friends? Can I pick something another student has posted?

The answers were, Yes. Yes! and YES! 

"It's like any holiday," I joked with them, "you can celebrate it any way you like!"

Yay! they cheered.

When I told my friend and fellow English teacher Mary about it? She said, "Look at you, creating a community of writers!"

Yes! Yes! and Thank you, Mary!

Where Were You?

It's National Poem-in-your-Pocket Day, and as every year, I asked my students to choose a poem and carry it for the day. We celebrate the occasion in class also, and all students who are willing and able may share their chosen poems (for a lollipop, of course!).

This year someone read Where I Was by Dan Brown.

"Do you know what that's about?" I asked.

"I think it's about a field trip," he answered.

"Yes, but it is also about when President Kennedy was shot."

"What?????" another boy shouted from across the room. "President Kennedy was shot????? Did he die????"

I frowned and looked at the second student, trying to tell if he was serious. The other kids around him shushed him, and explained that yes, the president had died of his wounds.

"Anyway," I continued, "that was such a huge event for the people who were alive then, that many years later they remembered clearly where they were when they heard the news, and that's what the title of the poem means."

Later I was telling my friend Mary about it. "Just think," she laughed, "that kid will always remember that he was in your class, in 2015, when he heard that Kennedy was shot."

Pocket-worthy

One of the many great things about Poem in Your Pocket Day is that every year I read and hear so many amazing poems that I've never heard of before. In fact, just today I actually found a poem by Robert Frost that I really can't believe I've never read. It's that wonderful:

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Pathos

Another year brings another Poem in Your Pocket Day.

As you may have read here before, to encourage my students to participate in this annual event, I always break out my personal poetry library. Consisting of sixty or so volumes, many are edited and written for kids, but some are for more general audiences. Oh, I have culled my collection of any books that might have more mature material than not-- there is no Reuben Jackson, Richard Brautigan, or even Sylvia Plath, although I do own some of their work, but when I offer my poetry books to my students it is always with the caveat that they must turn the page on anything that they feel may be inappropriate, or bring it to me. Since the purpose of the assignment is to find a poem to share, I caution them to consider their audience and avoid choosing anything that might offend.

Most students enjoy browsing through such a variety, and in general the poems they choose seem just right for them. Of course some students take my caution as a challenge to find the most inappropriate poem they can, and others enjoy bringing something they think is racy to me and asking me to explain it to them. My stock reply? "If you don't know what it means, pick another poem!"

Today, though, an earnest student picked up my copy of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

"I've never actually read this before," he told me.

"Really?" I answered. "I'm surprised. It's a classic-- enjoy!"

A few minutes later he returned gravely to my desk. "Wow!" he said. "That went really dark really fast." He shook his head. There was no irony in his voice. "I mean, she swallows the horse, and she's dead "of course"??? And then a little cartoon gravestone?" His eyes were wide. "This book is totally not for me." He placed it back on the table and walked away.

Life and Literature

I knew what it was about the minute I received the e-mail:

On Tuesday, my son shared a poem with me that he found in a collection he said you shared with him.  I have some concerns about the content of the poem and feel it might be easier if we talked.

To help my students prepare for Poem in your Pocket Day, I always break out my personal poetry library. Consisting of sixty or so volumes, many are edited and written for kids, but some are for more general audiences. Don't get me wrong-- I have culled my collection of any books that might have more mature material than not-- there is no Reuben Jackson, Richard Brautigan, or even Sylvia Plath, although I do own some of their work.

However, I do share a couple of anthologies by Wislawa Szymborska. I first read her writing when she won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1996. Born in 1923, she spent her entire life in her native Poland, living through Nazi occupation, Stalinism, Solidarity, and eventually Democracy. She has said that her poetry explores the large truths that exist in every day life. "Of course life crosses politics, but my poems are not strictly political. They are more about people and life."

When I offer my poetry books to my students it is always with the caveat that they must turn the page on anything that they feel may be inappropriate, or bring it to me. Since the purpose of the assignment is to find a poem to share, I caution them to consider their audience and avoid choosing anything that might offend. As an example, I offer Szymborska's poem, The Terrorist, He Watches.

Published in 1979 during a rash of European bombings, it starts like this:  

The bomb will go off in the bar at one twenty p.m.
Now it's only 1:16 p.m.
Some will have time to go in,
some to get out. 

And it follows the people who go in and out of the bar unaware of the mortal choices they are making, until the bomb explodes in the last line.

I warned my students about this poem on Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon. On Tuesday morning, I pulled the anthology off the table, and on Tuesday afternoon, this particular student mentioned the poem to his parents. Despite my discouragement, he had copied some lines from the poem the day before, and was struck by how timely they were.

When I explained the time frame and objectives of the assignment, his mother was very understanding, and she could even set her concern aside for a moment to appreciate that her 11-year-old was making literary connections to current events.

We agreed that it's what we want, but not in this way.

"Of course, life crosses politics," Szymborska once said "but my poems are strictly not political. They are more about people and life." - See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/340#sthash.2y4N7fvB.dpuf

"Of course, life crosses politics," Szymborska once said "but my poems are strictly not political. They are more about people and life." - See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/340#sthash.2y4N7fvB.dpuf

"Of course, life crosses politics," Szymborska once said "but my poems are strictly not political. They are more about people and life." - See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/340#sthash.2y4N7fvB.dpuf

"Of course, life crosses politics," Szymborska once said "but my poems are strictly not political. They are more about people and life." - See more at: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/340#sthash.2y4N7fvB.dpuf

Grass Roots

Time flies!

For six years my students have participated in National Poem in your Pocket Day, sponsored by the American Academy of Poets on one day each April, which also happens to be National Poetry Month. The idea is simple: find a poem that speaks to you, and carry a copy in your pocket to share on this day.

If Twitter is any indication, the event might be gaining traction. New York City has been sponsoring their own version for 11 years, and other locales have joined in, but today there were lots of pictures and tweets of poems from participants all over the country.

Even though all my students were well prepared to share some verse today, and I have used morning announcements and other more personal persuasion to raise the awareness of our school over the last five years, I realized a little while ago that I have not been the evangelist I could be. I mentioned it to my mom, who lives in Minnesota, and she did not know what I was talking about.

Next year? I'm going to fix that. Look out Twin Cities, Atlanta, Buffalo, Miami, Charlottesville, Amherst(?), Hershey, and where ever you might be, Bill. Poem in your Pocket Day is coming your way!

Our English Holiday

Today was National Poem in Your Pocket Day, and as in years past, all of my students chose poems to carry with them. A part of our lesson was set aside for them to share if they wanted to.

It was a sweet day. Hearing young voices reciting verses that they have chosen is always uplifting. Every year, some kids select song lyrics, but today was the first time that anybody has ever asked to sing. Her version of You Don't Know You're Beautiful was met with applause and even demands for an encore.

Power of Poetry

Poem in Your Pocket Day was a big hit. This is the third year that I've made time in my class for all of my students to choose a poem in advance and then carry it with them. When the actual day arrives, we have an informal poetry reading in English, and I allow the conversation to go vagabond-- taking us where it will, from Langston Hughes to Shel Silverstein to Emily Dickinson, from Jabberwocky to The Raven and back around to some of their favorites that we've read together. It helps that I offer lollipops to all who are willing to read their chosen poems and explain why they carry those with them. Today, every single kid volunteered; that's a first.

Lots of adults in the building and especially the other teachers on my team also support the activity: carrying poems themselves, asking kids what they've chosen, and using any spare minutes to share poetry. No doubt that's a big part of why the kids were so into it. Also, since it's the third year we've celebrated PiYPD, most of the students in our school have been involved in this day before, and a fair number of seventh and eighth graders had poems in their pockets, too. Even so, I have a hunch there's a little more to its success than any of that.

Four years ago, before I had heard of this literary holiday, I did a mini-version of Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project. My students chose a poem and practiced reading it, then I video-recorded their performances along with them telling why they had chosen that piece. It's been a while since I revisited that footage, but I dug out the DVD to see if it would be relevant today. I was surprised at how good it was; I honestly didn't remember what a wonderful job they did-- so earnest and sweet in both delivery and rationale-- and I wanted to take credit for it, but really? A better explanation is probably that poetry is just awesome.

In Good Company

Today was National Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day, and I asked all of my students to carry a poem with them. In order to prepare for the big day, I gave them time earlier in the week to look through all of the poems we've read together, but they could also choose something that they or a classmate had written, or another poem they knew of and liked. In each class there was a voluntary read-around where students who were willing rose and introduced their selection by saying a few words about why they'd chosen it and then read the poem to the class. Because they're kids, and I wanted it to be kind of fun, they were rewarded with a lollypop. (An aside-- Dum Dum Pops now come in mango flavor, and they are delicious!)

They picked a nice assortment of poems. Shel Silverstein is always a favorite; Langston Hughes was very popular; there were a couple Dickinsons and Frosts, too. Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, and Ruth Foreman were all represented. I was glad that many chose from our common texts; it was nice to revisit those poems through the students' eyes. Several kids used poems that they had written this year, and that made me happy, too.

Near the end of the day, one student stood to read her selection. She turned to the class and smiled. "This was one of my favorite poems this year," she started. "I picked it because I like it." Then she read a poem that I had written and shared with the class about our school. It was an odd moment for me. To be in the company of those other poets, no matter how fleeting, and to hear my words in her voice was so moving that, when she finished, I realized I'd been holding my breath. And it may have been that, but it could also have been the applause from the other students that made me feel light-headed and a little giddy.

"Thank you, Ana," I said. "For that, you can have two lollypops."