A Chat With Kerry O'Connor: Poetry In the Classroom

This week, my friends, we are privileged to be chatting with Kerry O’Connor, a member of Poets United since its early days. Kerry writes at Skylover, and is also admin and coordinator of our sister site, Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads. I asked Kerry, a teacher of high school English, what she might enjoy chatting about, and she chose how she and her school in South Africa inspire and encourage young people to appreciate poetry. As a number of our members are also teachers, I hope this topic will be of interest to many.

Sherry: Kerry, thank you so much for being available for this chat. Where shall we begin?

Kerry: I think it will work best for me if I just tell you a bit about how English is taught in South Africa, how and why I began to encourage writing poetry, and what some of my results have been.

Sherry: That sounds good, Kerry. First, though, is there ever resistance by your students to writing poetry? Do they start off thinking poetry will be boring, then catch fire?

Kerry: The answer is a straight off yes, with a big but, because teens secretly love writing poems. It is a complex psychology one is dealing with, when it comes to getting teenagers to do anything out of their comfort zones.

I would like to pass on any ideas that would get more kids writing, rather than tweeting, and communicating via snapchat.

Sherry: Please do! With kids so plugged in to their devices, I worry that the art of writing is in peril  among the young! 

Kerry: The subject I teach is English as Home Language, which is taught over four areas of study: Literature, Language, Creative Writing and Oral. All four components must be tested quarterly to form the continuous assessment of the whole year. Under Literature, we study novel, Shakespeare, film and poetry in each grade. The poetry section is  perceived as being the most difficult for the students, because they come with the attitude that poems are incomprehensible. This spills over to their belief that they cannot write what they don't understand.

The writing of poetry is not part of the course work, and many teachers do not find time to teach the skill because the workload is already overloaded, but I make time for it at the end of each quarter once the course work has been completed. Since there is more time in the Eighth Grade, (the first grade of High School), I spend a few lessons introducing the concept in a fun way.

I usually begin with limerick, which has a simple rhyme scheme and is only 5 lines long, so they see it as possible and a little silly. Then I introduce syllable counting forms like cinquain, or word counting poems, like diamante which require a bit of technical know-how. I allow the class about a week to perfect their poems, suggesting they write more than one and choosing their favourite and, on the next Friday, we have a poetry reading lesson. 

I go around the class and everyone reads his or her poem aloud. Initially, there may be embarrassment or attempts to avoid taking a turn, but my classroom is a very safe environment, and I encourage a lot of applause, while trying to give positive feedback myself. I don't force a reluctant child to read, but always invite them to do so again after everyone else has shared and, 9 times out of 10, they do.

I do participate in the class readings by doing the challenges I give the students, and reading my poems to them. It helps to break the ice.

Sherry: This sounds like a highly effective approach, Kerry. 

Kerry: Children respond to positive reinforcement,  and love to be the centre of attention. The biggest obstacle to this exercise is convincing them to put in maximum effort when the end result will not be graded. Here I must convince them that poetry is its own reward (and they don't believe that at first). From the easiest forms, I have them writing villanelle and sonnets by the tenth grade. I also encourage them to write free verse.

Sherry: It must be heartwarming to watch their enjoyment – and skill – developing.  Kerry, you have been admin of Real Toads for a few years now and have developed it into a really stellar site: lots of participation by very fine poets, a wonderful and unceasing stream of inspiring prompts, and a stable platform and resource for poets. Tell us a bit about Toads.

Kerry: I took it over when One Stop Poetry disbanded because communal poetry platforms are essential, if poets do not want to be writing in a vacuum. RT has always been a group project, not dependent on any one person. My role is as coordinator with an administrative role, but it is the toads who keep the wheels rolling.

About 3 years ago, when NaPoWriMo came around and we offered a prompt a day at The Imaginary Garden, I had the brainwave to do the same thing with all my classes (I teach five classes - one in each grade), by encouraging them to write for themselves as the only reward. This created uproar, how could I expect them to write 30 poems? I calm them down by saying could you write one poem every three days or one every two days? If they think they could, then that is ten or fifteen poems in one month, and a great achievement; even one poem is one more than they would have written if not challenged to do it.

Not every student managed to complete all 30 poems, but many more did than I expected. I continue to put the challenge to them each year. Last year, I came up with a new idea of 300 poems in 30 days for September. This was a challenge between my grades 8 - 10 classes that each class would write 100 poems together as a group effort, and this time I promised that if they achieved the goal, I would start a blog for them to see their poems published on the internet, which they could share on facebook and twitter. 

Sherry: What a fantastic idea! Creating a blog for them must have been a great incentive! 

Kerry: The blog is called somewhere I have never travelled and many examples of my students' poems can be read there from that challenge, as well as a selection of  poems from a collection of 28 called All the Reasons, written by a student who matriculated at the end of 2014.  She sent me a copy of her poems and a letter in which she said: "I still recall our first NaPoWriMo challenge and how I laughed at the notion of being able to write a poem. I mean, I wasn't in love, I didn't hate anyone, I wasn't experiencing 'complexities' and my life was altogether boring." 

Sherry: I love that! I have to smile that she went from thinking she had nothing to write about to knowing she had everything to write about – an excitement we all share. Let’s take a look at one of this student’s poems, with her permission, about writing.

Epiphany ~
by Celine Hatting

I will not lie to you -
this poem is bare.

There is no deeper meaning,
no syllable counts,
and no perfectly planned stanzas.

There is no hidden message,
no underwire,
and no witty play on words.

I have not chosen my words
carefully.
Rather, I have sprayed them
bombastically across the page,
hoping they will somehow
find their way to each other.

And if these confused words happen
to qualify as poetry,
I would be so grateful -
because that would mean
that I have something
out of nothing
just as words have made something
out of me.

Sherry: This is marvelous, Kerry. Such a strong writer already, at the beginning her journey. It must have been wonderful watching her catch the spark, and run with it. I hope that poetry will accompany her through the rest of her life. If it does, it will be, in part, because of you. That must feel pretty good.

Kerry: One of the reasons why I believe it so important for young people to express themselves in poetry is for the mental stimulus, the exercise it gives to the imagination, the way it helps them come to terms with their emotions in a creative way. You asked if I have ever had any prodigies, and I cannot tell you how many times I have been humbled and excited by the breadth of talent, and artistry I have been privileged to read from my students over the years.

Sherry: I can only imagine how deeply satisfying it must be, as a poet and as a teacher, to watch young poets tune in and turn on to the joy of writing. Let us take a look at two of your current students, and their work.

Kerry: I would like to mention one of my current students, Nsiki Gwala. I think readers would be interested to read the work of one of my Zulu students and she is gifted - the top achiever across all subjects in grade 10.

~ This poem is the sky, a flower and the sea

This poem is the blue sky.
This poem is a blooming flower.
This poem is the cold sea.

This poem is the blue ocean above.
God’s gift of life to the living,
Where bird’s swim so fearlessly and freely
Like a dry autumn leaf sinking swiftly to the dry land.
Earth’s peaceful and heavenly place
Where the ground is but a grotesque memory.
This poem is the blue sky.

This poem is the florescent flower of life.
A rebirth of indefinite opportunities,
With a delicate promise of hope and revival.
This is life’s rare moment that captures hearts and souls-
A true vision of a brighter tomorrow
That renews all shattered dreams.
This poem is a blooming flower.

This poem is a vast, aquamarine sea.
An ice-cold blanket that hugs the earth
Like a blizzard on a freezing winter’s day,
With jaws that have munched on rocky cliffs
And murdered innocent lives.
The giver of life for those near it-
This poem is the cold sea.

This poem is the heavenly, blue sky.
This poem is a florescent blooming flower.
This poem is the endless cold sea.

© Nsiki Gwala ~ Grade 10

 

Sherry: A beautiful and very impressive poem. I love that your students are trying out Hannah Gosselin's wonderful boomerang poem. One of my favourite forms.

Kerry:  Another gifted student is Pryaska Goorhoo, also in Grade 10. She is South African Hindu, and also a very promising writer.

"Far Above the Milky Way"

Far above the Milky Way                                                                                                                                                             People wanted the will to fight,                                                                                                                                            A beam of hope, a little golden ray.

Through dusk and through day,                                                                                                                                            Silent winds blow throughout the night,                                                                                                                                  Far above the Milky Way.

There is no yesterday, tomorrow or today.                                                                                                                       Violet horizons with that one golden flying kite.                                                                                                              A beam of hope, a little golden ray.

A perfection of hopelessness or a very tragic play?                                                                                                                  I often wonder about the many stars up there shining bright,                                                                                       Far above the Milky Way.

I laughed, I cried, however I still think its cliché.                                                                                                               Do you also wonder about some charming, mysterious knight?                                                                                       A beam of hope, a little golden ray?

Throughout this vast world I have searched, day by day.                                                                                                 My looking brighter, success within sight.                                                                                                                                 A beam of hope, a little golden ray…                                                                                                                                   Far above the Milky Way…


© Pryaska Goorhoo 

Sherry: How beautiful! "A little beam of hope...." What a treat it is to read these poems by three very gifted young poets. You must have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world!

Kerry: These students  give a taste of the cultural diversity of South African schools.    

Our school also offers three Speech and Drama Festivals annually to cater for the three official languages that are offered as Home or First Additional Language subjects at my school (namely English, Afrikaans and IsiZulu). The festivals are based on the idea of Eisteddfod, wherein students recite poetry, either original or from other sources, as well as other forms of performance, which are adjudicated. Various certificates and awards are made for outstanding achievement.

This shows that a culture of poetry does not only exist in my classroom, but is encouraged throughout the whole school and the province in which I live.

Sherry: It is commendable that your school and school district encourages and supports students in creative expression. The productions in the photos on the Speech and Drama website look to be of professional caliber. 

Kerry, thank you so much. This has been a most enlightening chat, and I appreciate your taking time at this busy term in the academic year, to give us a peek into your classroom, where the world of poetry is not only alive, but thriving!

Wasn't this a joy, my friends? It is wonderful to think of young people catching the spark of poetry young, that will accompany them all their lives. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!