All posts in Skinner West

Poetry Is…

Last week, we had our final (?!?) poetry classes of the residency. Students had asked me over the ten weeks to share some of my own work, so I brought in a few poems […]

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Before spring break, we had our penultimate classes, reading and discussing Alberto Ríos‘ “Don’t Go in the Library.” The poem starts, claiming, “The library is dangerous,” and Ríos repeats that same line toward the […]

Know Your Arches!

Patricia Lockwood‘s poem called “The Arch” made for interesting discussions last week. After hearing it read aloud, I asked who was speaking—the poet, or someone/something else? Is personification being used here? We examined the […]

Feed the Meter

Quiet different from last week’s poem was this week’s selection, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, called “Afternoon on a Hill.” While straightforward, with relatively ‘simple’ language, it’s nonetheless rather multilayered and deep. We discussed […]

Yes Ifs

Last week we read “Chateau If” by Peter Gizzi. After hearing it, the students’ initial reaction was “that’s a lot of ifs!” so I asked them to count how many are in the poem. […]

Elemental

Rhyme is one of the most immediately recognizable features of “The Armadillo,” by Elizabeth Bishop, we discussed this week. Not all of its rhymes are perfect, and I asked how that affected our appreciation […]

Uncommon Sense

“Paradoxes and Oxymorons” is the title of this week’s poem, by the late American poet John Ashbery. After hearing it read aloud by student volunteers, we considered how it was different from the other […]

Pangramming

This week’s classes were structured a little differently. First, I made sure the students had their paper prepared with proper headings for the writing they’d do later; I then asked them to flip the […]

Does Everyone Love a Story?

For the second week of our residency—the first handing out, reading and responding to a poem—I brought in Philip Levine‘s “A Story.” First thing, I asked the students to number the lines; since it’s […]

Random Is as Random Does

This week, I began my residency with the 4th graders. I had a majority of these students back when they were in 2nd grade, and it was amazing to see what a difference two […]

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