All posts in Timothy David Rey

‘To fight the night become the light. ‘: Odes

Students read ‘Ode To My Shoes’ by Francisco X. Alacron before penning their own odes. Below are some of their wonderful poems. Lesson Note: “Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are […]

‘Everybody looks…’: Odes

Students wrote Odes about something or someone they wanted to exalt after reading ‘Ode To My Shoes’ by Francisco X. Alacron. Lesson Note: “Rhyme and rhythm have been shown to intensify emotions at a […]

‘…Casper the Ghost playing with me’: Poems on Age and Reflection

Students shared childhood stories before writing their own poems reflecting back on their younger selves, as the speaker did in Billy Collin’s poem, On Turning Ten. Lesson Note. “I think one of the strengths […]

‘and dad/ and mom/and people/ and pool/’: Food and Memory Poems

Nikki Giovanni is a well-known African-American poet who spent summers with her grandparents in Knoxville, Tennessee, when she was a little girl, doing many of the same things kids like to do during the […]

‘The Whee-who/ The waves/ The quiet/ The stir/ Wow.’: Poems on Age and Reflection

Students read and discussed Billy Collin’s poem, ‘On Turning Ten,’ before writing their own poems on the subject of age and nostalgia. Lesson Note: “When you put something out there onto a piece of […]

‘Then put red tomatoes in’: Food & Memory Poems

A discussion of food and memory began our class in preparation to study Gary Soto’s Narrative Style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up a lot in our talks. What emotions are attached to […]

‘When I go to the water …’: Exquisite Corpse-Style Group Poems

Working on poetic lines, students crafted visual and then poetic Exquisite Corpses! Afterward, they were challenged to create a clay figure of one of their collective group drawings! Below are some images and some […]

‘I remember how I always somewhow’: Food & Memory Poems

A discussion of food and memory began our class in preparation for studying Gary Soto’s narrative-style poem, Oranges. Nostalgia and feelings came up a lot in our talks. What emotions are attached to memory […]

‘A True Account of Talking to Ballet Shoes in the New York Award Assembly’: O’Hara-style Poems

A lesson on Personification, giving human qualities to something non-human via the poem: A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island. We took a look at Frank O’ Hara’s touching and […]

‘To my brother/best friend’: Night Poems

Students thought about what occurs at night, the concept of home, and short forms before penning their own very modern poems inspired by Li Bai’s, ‘Quiet Night Thoughts.’ Quiet Night Thought At the foot […]

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