Week 1... I have to tell them it's a poetry class!

Welcome to my blog!  This will be a place where I can write about the experience of teaching a poetry workshop to an incredible group of 11th and 12th graders at Essex Street Academy.  

So far I've been really excited by the energy, open-mindedness and talent in the room.  We started class today with a quick write about this Humans Of NY Photo:

Quick Write #1 prompt

Students had 7 minutes to write anything that came into their minds.  Some people wrote descriptions, others wrote about the expressions on their faces, and one student, Veronica, wrote an awesome poem based on it.

Finally we ended class with looking at the poem "Defining The Magic" by Charles Bukowski.  

Tomorrow all students create their own blogs, which I'll provide links to on my page once they're under construction.

So far I think this is going to be a great semester...