First Poetry Workshop

Last night, I held my first poetry workshop. Ten showed up. That was ten more than I expected. It wasn't as easy as I thought. We read three poems that showed a child's point of view, as an adult, but more importantly, three different points of view.

In Memory from Childhood, by Antonio Machado, we were left with a boring impression. Machado described how boring school was.

In Power by Corrine Hales, we saw a narrative depicting fun, and then shock, conflict, and sad thoughtfulness.

Last, we read The Tooth Fairy by Dorianne Laux. Here we all felt sad and too many of us could identify with a child's helplessness in the midst of a home racked with physical abuse.

We talked about conveying emotion as concise as we could. I wanted them to show me how they felt, not tell me.

No one could do it.

I ended up collecting their poems. I intend to rewrite their first stanzas to show them what I want.