A democratic civilization will save itself only if it makes the language of the image into a stimulus for critical reflection, not an invitation to hypnosis.
SOS: The Urgency of Poetry in a Digital Age
SOS: The Urgency of Poetry in a Digital Age
After the most intense political race in 244 years of US history, it's hard to imagine that the highlight inauguration day (for many) would be a poet. But, in the murky waters of political rhetoric, few things could purify our vocabulary like a poem. Poetry's curated silences and playful misuses of language give form to feeling and sight to what's just beyond our vision. Through these three sessions, Renee Hobbs and Christian Shockley explore why literature's most neglected form is precisely what we need—and, more importantly, how we can teach it to the next generation.
FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST PRESENTER: Christian Shockley
Chris Shockley is a teacher who writes. At Pathwright, he advances a brilliant philosophy for better online education but his passion is for poetry, and he's combining the two in this 3-part series.
Poetry to Die For
DATE: Tuesday, April 27
TIME: 4 pm EST
LOCATION: Online. Click here to register for the series.
"Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?” Osip Mandelstam wrote of his experience writing poems during Stalin's regime. In this first session, we'll explore what poetry can do for us when the world feels fragile.
From Ephemeral to Eternal
DATE: Tuesday, May 4
TIME: 4 pm EST
LOCATION: Online. Click here to register for the series.
We'll discuss two ways to keep the ephemeral alive and inherit the poems of previous generations. Through two complementary activities, we'll look at ways to help our students connect with and internalize language.
Poetry for Humans
DATE: Tuesday, May 11
TIME: 4 pm EST
LOCATION: Online. Click here to register for the series.
Live It's easy to forget that poetry matters for ordinary people. This session will be a live recording of Poetry for Humans. We'll read a poem together and discuss it through story and observation (rather than pure literary analysis).
Resources for Exploring the Connetions between Poetry and Media Literacy
LESSON PLAN: Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb," PBS News Hour
VIDEO: Tom Jones Talking Reality Television Blues (2021) Thanks to Iglika Ivanova for recommending this!
READING: Poetry and Advertising by S. I. Hayakawa (1946)
READING: Using Instagram to Teach Poetry by Kyleen Grey (2019)
POETRY: #100HardTruths by Alexandra Juhasz. Poetry multimedia project created during the first 100 days of the Trump presidency. Also see Alexandra's marvelous reflection on teaching fake news poetry workshops.