All posts in Larry Dean

You Cento Me

It’s been an incredibly fun and insightful residency at Volta, but unfortunately, today was our last class. I reminded the students that in addition to teaching poetry, I write it as well, so I […]

100 Per Cento Efforts

We had our final poetry classes this week. Since one of the initial things I mention when we begin a residency is my own status as a ‘working’ poet, I brought in one of […]

Hope Springs Eternal

Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” was our focus this week. We talked about its multitudinous use of em dashes, unusual capitalization, and rhyme, but especially its central metaphor comparing a bird […]

Hope for the Best

For our penultimate session, we read and discussed Emily Dickinson’s “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” Students have taken note of em dashes in previous poems, but not to the extent they appear here; […]

Personification Up

Last week, we read and discussed Federico Garcia Lorca’s “The Guitar.” In class, we’ve previously examined how some writers choose personification from among many literary devices. However, the title musical instrument isn’t the only […]

Personifications of Interest

We’ve previously examined how writers use personification as one element among many in some of the poems discussed to date. On the other hand, personification is the focus of Federico Garcia Lorca’s “The Guitar.” […]

Simile-ing from Ear to Ear

After a few weeks off, we were back with poetry at Volta; and what better way to dive into the deep end than with Harryette Mullen’s “Wipe That Simile Off Your Aphasia”? This poem […]

A Simile Is Worth a Thousand Words

Similes were our focus this week. Students are already pretty comfortable with the concept, so something a bit different was in order. I included a note on Harryette Mullen’s “Wipe That Simile Off Your […]

Springing into Action

The two elements we examined most closely for this week’s poem were imagery and line length. William Carlos Williams’ “Spring Storm” is intensely focused on its title event. I asked if we removed “spring” […]

Springing to Mind

This last week was the first full week of spring, so in celebration, Volta poets read “Spring Storm” by William Carlos Williams. In addition to personification, the poem includes imagery, a term I explained […]

Donate

Support our student poets today!

CONNECT WITH US!

Twitter Facebook-f Instagram

STUDENT POETRY

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from current school partners.

POETRY ARCHIVE

Click on a school name below to browse student poems from our archive.

RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS

TESTIMONIALS

“Writing poetry makes me feel like I can see myself, like I can see my reflection, but not in a mirror, in the world. I write and I know I can be reflected.”
-Oscar S.

“Writing poetry makes me feel free.”
-Buenda D.

“Writing poetry is like your best friend.”
-Jessica M.

Search

CONTACT US

General Inquiries
info@poetrycenter.org

Programs (School & Organizational)
programs@poetrycenter.org

Reading Series and Events:
curator@poetrycenter.org

The Chicago Poetry Center is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
FEIN: 23-7400515

SEND US A POSTCARD

Chicago Poetry Center
1448 E. 52nd St, #256
Chicago, IL 60615

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