Imagination Academy 2014 - Week 3

(NY Public Library) For Week 3 of Imagination Academy, we shifted our focus to poetry. The week kicked off with Jane LeCroy, a New York based poet, singer, teacher and performance artist. According to Jane, poetry is ”Something that takes a while to understand. Once you first read it through, you can’t at first decipher what the author is trying to say. But that’s what makes poetry so much fun. There are no rules.”

After reading “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson the group wrote poems about seeing old things in new ways. They also wrote “mask” poems, becoming something or someone else, inspired by “Becoming a Redwood” by Dana Gioia.

Rulers of the Tracks Above and Below (inspired by “Cardinal Ideograms” by May Swenson")

A Pencil point;

a closed break, an express

C Gaping mouth

from the side; a local

J An upside down

frown; an express

Z A twisted spork;

the best letter; a local

R Legs with just

a head; express

M Goes on forever

from Manhattan to Queens

-Zora


Mirror

The morning brings faces

Pimples, eyelashes, makeup and hair

White fog smudges from the little ones

Yelling from the teens

The pungent smell of perfume

And the airy presence of powder

The ting of tweezers and the buzz of

razors and the white teeth from dentist visits

The alarm clocks, the whines, the

surprises, the weird, the flies,

The pets and the whistles

The smells aren’t the best the

sounds rather loud but

Imagine if you were a cloud!

-Maggie

John Grandits taught the group about concrete poetry. After seeing some of John’s work (including 3D poetry!) and a Q&A session, the group created their own spiral poems using paper plates.

I got swallowed by a tornado. My mother was not pleased.

It was like a rollercoaster and I liked it indeed.

I saw some funny things up there. Here is

what I saw. A grown man in his underwear,

sleeping with a teddy bear! I saw a man welding a

bicycle to a pole. And several dishes

went down the commode. My little brother

said it really wasn’t fair.

And I replied I really don’t

care. I really don’t care!

I REALLY DON’T

CARE!

Vincent Toro, our final poet, asked the young writers to define poetry. After reading “Poetry should ride the bus” by Ruth Foreman, the group brainstormed new lines about what poetry should do. They combined their ideas and came up with a poem of their own!

Poetry Should… (Written by Imagination Academy’s Young Writers)

Poetry should be the kindergarten teacher

who gets their students into the best universities

Poetry should swim in a pool of words and rhymes

Poetry should slip into your dreams

so that when you wake up you have the answer

Poetry should go everywhere

but the garbage can

Poetry should do gymnastics

Poetry should chew watermelon bubblegum

Poetry should sculpt a clay pot

Poetry should be a pastor in a church

speaking so strong, so loud

Poetry should shine with an ethereal

luminescence Poetry should be a teacher

Poetry should fly around and save the day

Poetry should score the winning goal

in soccer Poetry should dance to Jazz

Poetry should conquer

On Friday, under Jackie s guidance, the group wrote more concrete poems.

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They also wrote acrostic poems.

Chewy or chocolate!

A food for children

Need sugar rush!

Divine and delicious

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

-Sydney

It’s amazing that next week, Graphic Novels and Illustration, will be our final session for 2014!
Source: www.nypl.org