50 State Tour: The Sunflower State

Kansas State Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg continues her visit today. She's got some great advice for teaching poetry in the classroom.

Does Kansas have a poet-in-the-schools program and do you visit schools?

We have an Arts on Tour program, and schools can contract with me to come in and do workshops for their students. I generally try to help students discover that writing can be something specifically for them to help them clarify who they are and celebrate their options in life. 

What tips do you have for teachers?

I would suggest to teachers that they try out exercises such as having students pick a place in the world, and then write about themselves living there as if this was where they were from. They might also use fairy tales and folk tales as writing prompts, asking students to write from the perspective of quiet characters or objects in the poem (such as the pumpkin in "Cinderella" or one of the dwarves in "Snow White.")

There's a model poem at Poetry 180 -- a Sleeping Beauty retelling called "Immortality," by Lisel Mueller.

Caryn, did you have a favorite book of poetry as a child?

I didn't really have a favorite book of poetry as a child, but as a teenager, I loved e.e.cummings and T.S. Eliot, and eventually, Adrienne Rich, William Stafford and many others.

Tell us about the literary community in Kansas. Who are some poets we should check out?

We have a widespread literary community, and many of our top writers can be found at http://www.kansaspoets.com/.

In Lawrence, KS., where I live, there's quite a community of experimental poets because of William Burroughs having lived here for many decades until his death. His residence here brought many artists and poets to town regularly, such as Anne Waldman, Allan Ginsburg, Phillip Glass and so many others. Poets in this tradition include Jim McCrary, Judy Roitman, Joseph Harrington and especially Ken Irby. 

You'll find an interview with Burroughs here.

There are also many who identify particularly with writing about Kansas, such as Denise Low (past poet laureate), Steven Hind, Bill Sheldon, Kathleen Johnson and others. We have cowboy poets such as Jim Hoy and Mike Johnson. We also have very complex, internationally-known writers such as Albert Goldbarth.

If you'd like to read Caryn's poem "Self Portrait as Hand" and try the related writing exercise, it's in yesterday's post.

Thanks for stopping by, Caryn.

We're heading east for a stop in West Virginia next. Enjoy your weekend!

Poetry Friday: Self Portrait Exercise

I love writing self-portrait poems with children. But the task can be daunting unless you help them focus. Kids are complicated persons!

I've done this a couple of ways. Sometimes I share a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh where the tones are overwhelmingly blue-green. Students choose a color to guide their self-descriptions.

Sometimes I ask students to follow the story of how they got their names. This result is a narrative self-portrait poem, often with a sense of family history.

I'm thrilled to have Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg joining me for Poetry Friday today.

Caryn has a self-portrait writing exercise to share. Her model poem is "Self-Portrait as Hand."

Self-Portrait as Hand

I tell fortunes, the lines in me extinct
talismans. It’s really the muscles
that lift and open the world,
apple by apple. I’m not afraid
of my strength, the engine souls
of my palms, the curling and
uncurling fingers you depend on
without noticing. I’m wizened as
an old tree, spiffy as a happy tool.
I’m holding things or taking them,
falling on the keys, aiming toward
ignition, leaning on an arm
or leaping to his waist when
no one’s looking.
I’m good-looking too,
never too fat or ill-clad,
loopy as a cocktail party,
sporting my wedding band
like a loose bone.
When you stop mostly all the
other limbs and muscles, I’m still
agile as apples, happy as
the day is long, holding all
that can’t be held
without dropping a word.

Posted with permission of the author.

Writing exercise: write you own self-portrait as part of your body, or as an object, piece of furniture or type of weather.

Thanks, Caryn. This is a great way to work on metaphor using a focused image.

I asked Caryn a few questions about her job as the Sunflower State's poet laureate.

Do you, as Kansas' poet laureate, have a project?

Yes, and my project is called "Poetry Across Kansas: Reading and Writing Our Way Home." It encompasses writing workshops, using the poetry of Kansas poets as writing prompts, as well as sessions to train community leaders, artists and writers to lead ongoing writing circles in their towns.

I also offer poetry contests each April (as part of National Poetry Month), and I run a Poetry Pen Pal project, which matches up writers across the state to share their work, help one another revise and strengthen their writing, and look into publishing and public readings (all pen pal participants get a big packet of material to help them get started). 

I love the sound of Poetry Pen Pals. What a fun project that would be for kids.

What are the duties of a poet laureate in your state?

I do a monthly podcast that I send out to a large email list and to all media contacts in Kansas, and that I post on my blog and on the Kansas Arts Commission website. I also write regular columns, and do readings and workshops throughout the state.

Tomorrow, Caryn will fill us in on the literary scene in Kansas, including some advice for teaching poetry in the classroom. Add school workshops to the list of poetry outreach she does!


Poetry Friday is brought to you by the letter L. Stop by Laura Salas' Writing the World for Kids more poetry.

50 State Tour: Oregon, Honey!

Summer is coming. The blueberries in our backyard are still green, so we're eagerly awaiting early July, when they'll be ready to eat. Warm from the sun. Mmmm.

Oregon (33rd State, 2/14/1859) is known for its berries and fruit trees. Almost all of the hazelnuts used in the U.S. -- 98% --come from the Beaver State.

The city of Portland even has an official doughnut, the Portland Creme. This is what they look like. Is your mouth watering yet?

I've been experimenting with honey, skipping the teddy-bear shaped jars in favor of comb honey. We also like trying different honeys. Buckwheat honey from upstate New York is dark and has a strong nutty flavor.

Here is an article about comb honey from the Oregon State Beekeepers Association.

Oregon's new state poet laureate is Paulann Peterson. She started her two year term in April -- National Poetry Month.

In "A Sacrament," Peterson uses honey as a fresh metaphor for the ecstatic experience. This being transformed by being in the moment is a favorite subject of poets Rumi and Mary Oliver.

A Sacrament
 
BY PAULANN PETERSEN

Become that high priest,
the bee. Drone your way
from one fragrant
temple to another, nosing
into each altar. Drink
what's divine--
and while you're there,
let some of the sacred
cling to your limbs.
Wherever you go
leave a small trail
of its golden crumbs.
In your wake
the world unfolds
its rapture, the fruit
of its blooming.

The rest of the poem (and others by Peterson) are at CounterPunch. Her poem "Appetite" -- also about honey and bees -- is at the Poetry Foundation.

Next state up is Kansas. Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is stopping by for a visit!