Poetry but I'm No Poet

Catherine posted this week about poetry and the way that poems can evoke or persuade thought. It reminded me of a poem I wrote a couple years ago that shows some of the frustrations that I've felt about our society. It is strange to post it purely in written form: the rare time that I've shared it, I've read it aloud. I feel that reading it is key to give emphasis and pause where it's needed, to make the points that I want to. So just imagine those when you read it! It will be interesting to see what you think of it as it is here. So close your eyes, take a breath and read it slowly, intentionally (that is how I would do it aloud):



I am so grateful for the relief that the light of my life throws the world into,
without it I'd be blind.
But blindness is a virtue,
just like kindness or joy.
The kind of ignorance that is blissful.
And practicality is an abnormality in this cycle we call life.
And rations are more for food than they are for thought.
And patients are in hospitals,
but it's not in our hearts, slowing us down, pondering...
That is a virtue we've forgotten.


In a world of here and now, are you here? Now?
Instead of pennies, we're pinching cards. Swipe, stripe, slide...
....slide down into that red world and stay there.
Drown in the luxuries that you've chosen for yourself.
Too bad you didn't buy flippers.
Flip out against this world that we've created. 
There's so much....space to mold it to our will.
Spacing out is not an option.

Be present in the present or it shall escape from our grasp and will be another's to control.
Another human, another country, another world.

And it goes on, this life we lead.
But if the world keeps spinning, will it ever spin out of control?


-Jes Oystryk


I often think of Shane Koyczan and the way that he performs poetry. Here is a link to one of his amazing talks - and this one is so relevant for our students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4

This clip would be a great way to introduce slam poetry to students. Slam poetry is a very modern form of poetry, is a performing art and can be very political or influential. I think that slam poetry would be an excellent strategy for getting students to be more interested and motivated to do poetry. It encourages the use of rhythm and other mechanical forms of poetry. The following website gives some great ideas for lessons on slam poetry. There are also great sources that give definitions and histories about slam poetry.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june00/poetryboxlessonplanone.html

Loss of Beauty

I truly believe that the overuse of television has resulted in a loss of beauty. I don't think t.v.'s are a bad thing, there's certain shows I love and films that just resonate with me. However, there is this phenomena that occurs in the lives of many, where the television is a vacuum, a black hole. It sucks them in and takes over their evening, or their weekend, or more. And I am not exempt from it, especially not from the other black hole known as Facebook. But my point is, that many people I know don't have hobbies. They don't have a way to keep their hands busy or challenge their mind. And I know, because I was there. This makes me incredibly sad, because I feel that this is a loss of beauty. These are amazing, talented people that I believe have wonderful contributions to make to the world. But they don't believe it, because they've never experienced it. I believe these people would find their place if they just had an outlet. One that was not the mind-numbing experience of endless t.v.

I'm trying to imagine ways that I could encourage students to develop their own hobbies. I personally love soccer and I fully plan to organize soccer teams in elementary schools but when it comes to more creative things, there are so many different clubs that one could form to encourage these types of habits. Crafts such as knitting or scrapbooking can lend themselves to great social opportunities for students. Clubs like these would not only keep students away from t.v.'s for another hour a day but may create opportunities for students to form bonds and manifest these practices together outside the club itself. Extra-curricular activities are such an important tool for teachers to consider - they create opportunities that would be so much more difficult in a classroom environment.

A little bit of inspiration...

I came across these pictures this morning.. this artist sculpts images of birds using paper. Her use of colour and fine detail is something to be revered. I'm amazed at the accuracy of these recreations.

Diana Beltran: Hairy Woodpecker

 This is a close up of Beltran's crane.




http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/artscience/2013/09/diana-beltran-herreras-flock-of-paper-birds/

Finding the Smile

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson


Sometimes I struggle with keeping perspective, lose touch with my priorities and things start to go sideways. It's on these days that I start to get down and need to find my way back up to my natural, happy, positive self. I've started thinking of this challenge as 'finding the smile' - finding something in my day to be happy about and to celebrate. This can often be found in my relationships with my family and friends, but another common contributor I've realized is art. For example, I love the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. The dynamic images and colours paired up with the intellectual humour is just perfect to me. Other aspects of art also apply, and I will continue to pursue this theme throughout the semester. Find the smile :)

My Creative History

This is an image of one of the sketches that I attempted last year. My inspiration came from a photo that I found online. It was an exciting endeavour to start finding my own place in the world of creativity. My sister was always considered to be the creative one, always painting and drawing with bright colours. I, however, prefer dark tones and neutral colours. Black and white contrast was always something I enjoyed. So I decided to try sketching! 

I've started incorporating charcoal pencils to create darker darks and I'm always trying to consider two things I learned in highschool art class:
1) to SUGGEST shape and line instead of actually drawing it out
2) to utilize negative space