All posts in Skinner West

Aloha, Poetry Superstars!

In the Hawaiian language, aloha can mean hello or goodbye; it also means love or affection. Today we had the last poetry classes of this year’s residency. It’s never easy to reach the conclusion, […]

Alone Again, Or

For our penultimate classes this week, we read Rainer Maria Rilke‘s “I Am Much Too Alone in This World, Yet Not Alone.” I asked the students if they could ever be “too alone,” and […]

Weather or Not

This weekend marks the beginning of spring, so our poem this time was “Spring is like a perhaps hand” by E. E. Cummings. The poet is renowned for messing around with grammar, syntax, and […]

Q&A

This week’s poem was “Some Questions about the Storm” by Hilda Raz. In it, two speakers are talking about a storm, asking such questions as “was it bad?” “What did you see?” and “Was […]

Heads of the Class

Continuing with more work in translation this week, we read “A Boy’s Head” by Miroslav Holub, from the Czech Republic. Holub was a clinical immunologist and pathologist, as well as a poet, and students […]

Thanks for the Memories

In juxtaposition to last week’s very stream-of-consciousness poem, we read a more narrative effort, Edna St. Vincent Millay‘s “Recuerdo.” Students recognized its regular rhyme scheme, and our discussions revolved around who the main characters […]

Me a Name I Call My Selfie

This week, we read a poem by the current US Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera called “Dolphinating.” Students immediately noted the strange title, and looking at the poem on the page recognized that something […]

I Heart _______

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I chose “Valentine, Valentine” by Landis Everson as this week’s poem. Before we heard it read aloud, however, I introduced the literary device of alliteration to the students, […]

The Shadow Knows…

Last week, we read our second translated poem by an international poet, Italian Carlo Betocchi‘s “The Shadow.” I asked the students if the poem rhymed, and we talked about the poet’s use of half […]

You Say You Want a Resolution

After more than a month away, I returned to Skinner West this week to begin the second half of my residency. The students were happy to see me, and I was also glad to […]

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