All posts in Poems

“She smells like oatmeal”

This week at Lawndale we talked odes and similes. While 6th grade was sabotaged by a broken down bus, they still enjoyed exploring Pablo Neruda’s “Oda a los Calcetines”/”Ode to My Socks.” I can’t […]

“EL Mundo Para Niños”

Back from the break for Thanksgiving, Twain 3rd graders sat with me and thought of whimsical and serious ideas for the kind of world they would like to live in. We read and discussed […]

Thoughts run free

On Monday the Group C students returned back to the O-School after Thanksgiving break. Holiday times can be relaxing, spending time with family and loved ones, but also can sometimes feel overwhelming. This week […]

Poem for Your Plate

The Group D Students returned back to the O-School on Monday, from Thanksgiving break refreshed and full of leftovers. For our second week of poetry, we discussed our favorite comfort foods that we love […]

Opposite Poems

This week students at Waters wrote poems about opposites! In class we, fittingly, read “Some Opposites” by Robert Wilbur and talked about the confusing process of defining an opposite and making up our own. […]

‘Griffins, changelings, alicorns, unicorns, pegasus’ and ‘It/ made us feel like/ movie stars’: Children’s Television Poems

What TV shows did we cherish when we were young? What did we learn from them? What makes a hero (both real or imagined), and how can we learn from them (even the villains) […]

50% Terrible, 50% Amazing

I was back for another week with Waters 7th graders, this time talking about the stanza. Maggie Smith’s “Good Bones” was our poem for the day, a poem particularly prominent around the time that […]

Who Our People Are!

Greetings greetings! For our second week with Waters 6th graders, we talked about our commonalities: each student table came up with the longest possible list of things they have in common (such as being […]

‘…when I sit in my own sea…’: Kindness Poems

Students wrote and talked about kindness before reading the poem, ‘Small Kindnesses’ by Denusha Lameris. In crafting their own poems students focused on one idea, one stanza and small ways they have been kind […]

Epic Epic Epic

This week the young vikings read Brigit Peegen Kelly’s “The Leaving” and were tasked with writing a poem in an epic manner describing something they are proud of. This is a fantastic group of […]

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