Poems as Bridge to Human Relations

april 2013 poetry month

opportunities to share poetry abound

 

Last Thursday I presented a poetry reading & workshop for college students at Cascadia Community College where I teach Psychology.*

I'm grateful to students from the Disability Students Alliance Club for making the arrangments to promote the event and for their time to attend and participate.  Thank you also to students from my classes who made the effort to attend.

We found during our discussion that a poem may help us to break the ice for deeper dialogue as we explore the cultural contexts within our own families.  We discovered how a poem may act as the bridge to connect us to those places where we have commonalities such as our enjoyment of travel and learning about other cultures.  We discussed ways to engage with a poem by reading the poem aloud, listening to others read, and taking time to focus on a portion of the poem's content. 

Thank you to the following contributors who made it possible for participants to receive my poetry collection, Rustling Wrens, along with the April 2013 edition of Poetry Magazine:  

King County 4 Culture

Poetry Magazine

Cascadia Community College Disability Students Alliance

  













*Abnormal Psychology, General Psychology, Human Relations, Cross-Cultural Psychology, Organizational Behavior & Lifespan Psychology

A Sense of Place: The Washington State Geospatial Poetry Anthology

For an innovative approach to the poetry of place, take a road trip to the following site:

 

http://www.asenseofplacewa.com/

 

Poems written within the context of locations throughout Washington State are paired

with photos and the backdrop of geospatial mapping. 

 

A pleasure to participate,  Enjoy the results today.

 

PoetsWest @ the Creekside in Woodinville--featured reader, Denise Calvetti Michaels

please attend--poetry reading

Denise Calvetti Michaels, featured reader

April 17th, 7-9 pm

Poets West @ The Creekside

18200 Woodinville-Snohomish Road NE

Woodinville, WA

 

come early and sign up for open mic

for more information, please contact

ccrouch@thecreekside.net

Youth Source poetry workshops

Today I shared copies of Rustling Wrens as part of two interactive poetry workshops for youth pursuing their GED certificate in King County.  

Thanks to Youth Source for providing me this unique opportunity to read a handful of my poems followed by time for students to explore the question posed by each poem.  Student explorations were enhanced by availabilitly of open-ended art materials and time to share "words on paper" with the group.  Tables arranged in a horseshoe allowed everyone to engage with the responses of each writer.  Below are the questions posed:
 

Is there a lesson from school that has stayed with you?  Write or draw this message to explore its deeper significance. 
      (based on poem, The School at San Gabriel Dam, 1920)

Describe a time when you've needed to shift, leave, make a change.  Also, think about this as though someone else is writing about you, in a different voice.
      (based on poem, Flight to Arcata, Angie's Voice)

Make a list of details from your neighborhood(s).
      (based on poem, New Years Day from Shores of Lake    Washington)