All posts in Poems

Songs of Ourselves

My first week with Grissom’s middle school students could not have been more welcoming. Student poets did not hesitate introducing themselves and sharing what they already know about poetry. Together, we read “This Body […]

“cryptic snatches of wisdom / spotlighting” Blackout Poems from South Loop Poetry Club!

Last week at South Loop Poetry Club, we read Austin Kleon’s “Newspaper Blackout.” Some students were already familiar with the form, so we talked about how the source of a blackout poem can affect […]

‘Coming Home’: A Lesson in Metaphor & Values

Students read Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘Metaphors’ and then wrote their own metaphor-based poems. They also did some free writing around the topic of Values that you will see here. Lesson Note: Mrs. McClain, 7th […]

Surprise!

Cats jumping on us from out of nowhere, dandelions, bottle caps, and more are some of the things that the speaker in Dean Young’s “Quiet Grass, Green Stone” describes, confessing, “Me who wants to […]

Painting Self-Portraits

For our 2nd week of poetry, Hamline 6th graders explored the concept of self-portraits. Students looked at the artwork of famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who was known for creating unique self-portraits of herself. […]

Fun on the Internet: AI Poetry

This week the young viking writers had fun exploring using AI and Google to edit, construct, and translate their poems. We played a few text-generating games and I am so excited to publish the […]

Maybe you will see…fanciful imagery

For our most recent sessions, Swift 2nd and 3rd graders generated ideas that inspire us to see fun images with our mind’s eye. We talked about out-of-the-box thinking, before students brainstormed lists for “Swan […]

Do you hear what I hear?

What is a favorite sound you have? Is there a sound you would rather not have to listen to? This week, our after-school poetry club talked about the symphony of sounds we hear every […]

‘A big scissor staircase and big scissor nails. ‘: Experimental Forms of Poetry

Students created Jorge Enrique Adoum imitations via his poem, ‘Development, ‘ that ‘sets the stage,’ much like the initial phases of a story or play. The poem uses descriptive language and imagination to create […]

Another World (5th)

Today, we read “Another Planet” by Dunya Mikhail and discussed the personification and similes that she used to help create this new world for the reader. (This lesson was adapted from a lesson by […]

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