All posts in Joy Young

Unique and underrated names

O’ School students had their 13th session of poetry on Monday. This week’s theme was about names. I asked students: Why are names important? If you could choose another name for yourself, what would […]

The name that’s true to me

Last Friday was my first poetry session with Twain 6th gradera. Since it was our first time meeting each other, we discussed the importance of names. Names are part of our identities; names are […]

Many Ways to Write a Poem

This past Thursday, I was excited to meet Twain 5th graders for the start of our 10-week residency. Some students I had worked with last year as 4th graders, so it’s great to see […]

Mythical Poets

For their 12th week of poetry O-School students explored myths. A myth is an ancient story or legend explaining the early history of a group of people or about a natural phenomenon.  Students were […]

Poetry Out Loud 2025 Illinois State Champion

Monday March 17th was a magnificent day for the Poetry Out Loud 2025 Illinois State Competition. In Illinois this year, 48 high schools were part of Poetry Out Loud, 200 teachers, and over 7,900 […]

Spring Break is only a week and gone in a flash.

For our 11th week of poetry, O-School students shared their thoughts about Spring Break. Usually during Spring Break, people take vacations or stay at home for self-care and rest. A few students mentioned how […]

Comedic Poets

For our 10th session of poetry, O-School students explore their sense of humor. There’s usually a misconception about poetry, that it has to be serious all the time. But the great thing about poetry […]

Curious Questions

For our 9th poetry session, the theme was questions. Why do people ask questions? Does every question have to have an answer? The O-School students gave great responses to these questions. Most students mentioned […]

Poetry Out Loud 2025 Chicagoland Regionals Winners!!!

The Chicago Poetry Center is now in its 8th year as Chicagoland Regional Host Organization for the national youth poetry competition, Poetry Out Loud. Poetry Out Loud is a collaborative project of the Illinois […]

The parts of me I love

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the theme for our eighth session this week the O-School students thought about things that they loved about themselves. I showed a few black and white photos and words from […]

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I’M FROM THE CITY LIGHTS / STREAMING OUT IN THE NIGHT / AND HUGE SKYSCRAPERS / TOWERING OVER THE LAKE – MELISSA E., 7TH GRADE POET