School & Library Visits
Find out how your school or library can have the unique opportunity of a “writer-in-residence” for a day!
Photo Credit: Andrea Akin; Courtesy of Chatham Arts Council.OPTIONS
Meet the Author
I visit a school for a one-day program that includes a poetry reading and three creative writing workshops.
The Poetry Reading
I read both rhyme and free verse poems, and then launch into some humorous tales, some narrative-based, some storytelling, and some call and response. This leads to more stories and more poems. To close, I open the floor to students for a question-and-answer period. The poetry reading and Q&A lasts forty-five minutes to an hour. I see as many students as will fit in a school auditorium, gym, or library.
The Creative Writing Workshop
We write lyric and narrative poems. Themes include family, loved ones, friends, and things in the world, good times, food, music, Mother Nature, and real and imaginative experiences. We explore the use of the senses, figurative language, rhythm, imagery, sound, tone, emotion, and style. We work from prompts to write a first draft, and read aloud to share those drafts during the session. We give feedback on whether the writer's intention is successfully rendered, as well as discuss artistic choices as a way to further the prose or poem’s development.
The Poetry | Prose Residency
I visit a school for two to five days (or longer).
We explore lyric and narrative poems and prose as they relate to students and their interactions with others.
The workshop writing activities align with grade-specific Common Core standards. In the sessions, students receive a poetry packet, hear poems, take notes, write original poems, read them aloud, and receive constructive feedback. This naturally engages them in a great deal of writing, verbal interaction, higher-level thinking, and critical analysis.
Students have access to prose excerpts and sample poems in many varieties, from classics to contemporary gems by well-known writers, including my own work. We pay close attention to the powerful things that make poetry and prose come alive.
*My goal is to work with a responsive, committed group of students who take writing seriously and support and celebrate each other’s work.
Photo Credit: Andrea Akin; Courtesy of Chatham Arts Council.